Research of transport and deposition of aerosol in human airway replica

Growing concern about knowledge of aerosol transport in human lungs is caused by great potential of use of inhaled pharmaceuticals. Second substantial motive for the research is an effort to minimize adverse effects of particular matter emitted by traffic and industry on human health. We created model geometry of human lungs to 7th generation of branching. This model geometry was used for fabrication of two physical models. The first one is made from thin walled transparent silicone and it allows a measurement of velocity and size of aerosol particles by Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA). The second one is fabricated by stereolithographic method and it is designed for aerosol deposition measurements. We provided a series of measurements of aerosol transport in the transparent model and we ascertained remarkable phenomena linked with lung flow. The results are presented in brief. To gather how this phenomena affects aerosol deposition in human lungs we used the second model and we developed a technique for deposition fraction and deposition efficiency assessment. The results confirmed that non-symmetric and complicated shape of human airways essentially affects transport and deposition of aerosol. The research will now focus on deeper insight in aerosol deposition.
Rostoucí zájem o znalost transportu aerosolu v lidských plicích je zapříčiněn velkým potenciálem užití inhalovaných farmaceutik. Druhým podstatným motivem výzkumu je snaha minimalizovat škodlivé účinky aerosolů emitovaných průmyslem a dopravou. Vytvořili jsme modelovou geometrii plic do 7. generace, z níž vznikly dva modely. První je opticky transparentní a umožňuje studium transportu aerosolu pomocí optických měřicích metod, druhý je segmentový a umožňuje měření lokální depozice aerosolu. V článku jsou v krátkosti prezentovány první výsledky.