Modern approaches to assessing motor activity of epithelial cilia of upper respiratory tract

Abstract

Violation of the main mechanism of protection of the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract mucociliary transport (MCT) is the cause of the development of most diseases of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses (PNS). Nevertheless, to assess the MCT in clinical conditions, mainly methods of a subjective nature are used aiming at determining the time of the MCT. At the present stage, the development of a method for an objective assessment of the MCT using new computer and mathematical technologies is an important area of scientific research in otorhinolaryngology. Objective. Based on a review of publications of modern methods for assessing the MCT used in clinical practice and scientific research, to identify promising areas of methods for its study. Materials and methods. The analysis of domestic and foreign literature publications (articles and corresponding abstracts) presented in the databases of the National Library of Russia, including information on methods for assessing mucociliary transport and recording the motor activity of the cilia of the upper respiratory tract (URT) epithelium, was carried out. The materials were chosen according to the keywords: mucociliary transport, motor activity of the ciliated epithelium, rhinology. Results. When studying modern publications, it turned out that in MCT studies high-speed video recording of the work of cilia is increasingly used, in combination with computer and mathematical processing of the data obtained, which makes it possible to give a full assessment of both the mechanism of violation and the functional efficiency of the work of cilia. In the course of the information search, it was found that modern methods used in the study of the MCT tend to automate the receipt of results based on the development of software. The conducted analysis of the literature testifies to the prospects of combining the approaches of related scientific fields of medicine, physics, and biology in the study of the motor function of cilia. One of the promising scientific achievements is the method of Doppler optical coherence tomography (DOCT) using a laser radiation source, which makes it possible to noninvasively and noncontactly assess the nature of cilia movement disorders at the level of spatial planar sections. Most of the modern research methods presented in the article indicate the need for further development and use of new approaches and criteria for assessing the motor activity of cilia.