Sensitivity Analysis of a Cardiorespiratory Model for the Study of Sleep Apnea

A novel integrated model of cardio-respiratory interactions is presented in this paper with the objective of understanding the acute physiological response due to events of sleep apneas and hypopneas in adults. A formal sensitivity analysis is proposed, focused on the chemoreflex and metabolism gas exchange components of this model, during the simulation of a 20-seconds obstructive apnea episode. During apnea, the most influent parameters were those related to metabolic rates. After the apnea, the most relevant parameters were the one related with the the amplitude gains of the central and peripheral chemoreflex. A first qualitative comparison has shown a close behaviour between experimental and simulated cardiorespiratory responses to apnea. These results highlight the influent components of chemoreflex control and the metabolic rates and provides key information towards the definition of patient-specific parameters.