Calculated Ventilation and Effort Distribution as a Measure Of Respiratory Disease and Heliox Effectiveness

Nicolas Pozin (1, 2) , Spyridon Montesantos (1) , Ira Katz (1, 3) , Marine Pichelin (1) , Céline Grandmont (2) , Irene Vignon-Clementel (2)

1 CRCD - Centre de Recherche Claude Delorme [Jouy-en-Josas]
2 REO - Numerical simulation of biological flows
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering [Easton]

In spite of numerous clinical studies, there is no consensus on the benefit Heliox mixtures can bring to asthmatic patients in terms of work of breathing and ventilation distribution. In this article we use a 3D finite element mathematical model of the lung to study the impact of asthma on effort and ventilation distribution along with the effect of Heliox compared to air. Lung surface displacement fields extracted from computed tomography medical images are used to prescribe realistic boundary conditions to the model. Asthma is simulated by imposing bronchoconstrictions to some airways of the tracheo-bronchial tree based on statistical laws deduced from the literature. This study illuminates potential mechanisms for patient responsiveness to Heliox when affected by obstructive pulmonary diseases. Responsiveness appears to be function of the pathology severity, as well as its distal position in the tracheo-bronchial tree and geometrical position within the lung.

Mots clés: HeO2; asthma; lung; mathematical modeling; stochastic respiratory tree

Domaines: Modélisation et simulation; Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]

Nicolas Pozin, Spyridon Montesantos, Ira Katz, Marine Pichelin, Céline Grandmont, et al.. Calculated Ventilation and Effort Distribution as a Measure Of Respiratory Disease and Heliox Effectiveness. Journal of Biomechanics, 2017, 60C, pp.100-109. ⟨10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.06.009⟩. ⟨hal-01468861⟩