Fiona Knapman
Current Appointments
Research AssistantKey Research Areas
Fiona is a biomedical engineer working on two large-scale sleep apnea studies, led by Professor Lynne Bilston. These projects aim to investigate how the upper airway muscles work to stay open during sleep and whether these mechanisms are influenced by the electrical activity in the muscles, the sensation in the airway, and/or the size and shape of the muscles. The group is also examining whether or not new magnetic resonance imaging methods can predict whether a mandibular advancement splint will be an effective treatment for individuals suffering from obstructive sleep apnea prior to them committing to an expensive custom splint and lengthy trial time.
Publications
2023, 11 Dec
Direct optogenetic activation of upper airway muscles in an acute model of upper airway hypotonia mimicking sleep onset
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsad226
2023 Dec
Regional associations between inspiratory tongue dilatory movement and genioglossus activity during wakefulness in people with obstructive sleep apnoea
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1113/JP285187
2023, 01 May
Optogenetic Control of Muscles: Potential Uses and Limitations
View full journal-article on http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/hum.2022.236
2022, 13 Jun
The relationship between mandibular advancement, tongue movement, and treatment outcome in obstructive sleep apnea
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsac044
2022, 01 Feb
Task-dependent neural control of regions within human genioglossus
View full journal-article on http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00478.2021
2021, 10 Dec
Effect of upper airway fat on tongue dilation during inspiration in awake people with obstructive sleep apnea
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab192
2021, 09 Apr
Mandibular advancement splint response is associated with the pterygomandibular raphe
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa222
2021, 12 Mar
Influence of mandibular advancement on tongue dilatory movement during wakefulness and how this is related to oral appliance therapy outcome for obstructive sleep apnea
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa196
2020, 14 Apr
Nocturnal swallowing augments arousal intensity and arousal tachycardia
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1907393117
2020 Feb
Regional respiratory movement of the tongue is coordinated during wakefulness and is larger in severe obstructive sleep apnoea
View full journal-article on https://doi.org/10.1113/JP278769
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