Three-dimensional simulations of airways within human lungs |
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Authors: | T Martonen Kristin Isaacs Dongming Hwang |
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Institution: | (1) Experimental Toxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, 27709 Research Triangle Park, NC;(2) Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina, 27514 Chapel Hill, NC;(3) Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, 27514 Chapel Hill, NC;(4) Experimental Toxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, 27709 Research Triangle Park, NC;(5) Microelectronics Division, IBM, 27711 Research Triangle Park, NC |
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Abstract: | Information regarding the deposition patterns of inhaled particles has important implications to the fields of medicine and
risk assesment. The former concerns the targeted delivery of inhaled pharmacological drugs (aerosol therapy); the latter concerns
the risk assessment of inhaled air pollutants (inhalation toxicology). It is well documented in the literature that the behavior
and fate of inhaled particles may be formulated using three families of variables: respiratory system morphologies, aerosol
characteristics, and ventilatory parameters. It is straightforward to propose that the seminal role is played by morphology
per se because the structures of individual airways and their spatial orientations within lungs affect the motion of air and the
trajectories of transported particles. In previous efforts, we have developed original algorithms to describe airway networks
within lungs and employed them as templates to interpret the results of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECTs)
studies. In this work, we have advanced the process of mathematical modeling and computer simulations to produce three-dimensional
(3D) images. We have tested the new in silico model by studying two different branching concepts: an inclusive (all airways present) system and a single “typical” pathway
system. When viewed with the glasses supplied with this volume, the 3D nature of airway branching networks within lungs as
displayed via our original computer graphics software is clear. We submit that the new technology will have numerous and seminal
functions in future medical and toxicological regimens, the most fundamental being the creation of a platform to view natural
3D structures in vivo with related biological processes (e.g., disposition of inhaled pharmaceuticals). |
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Keywords: | 3D lungs inhaled pharmaceuticals lung images computer simulations |
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