Summary
This research effort focuses on numerical investigation of airflow dynamics and aerosol deposition in realistic human airways to understand regional deposition of drugs used for the treatment of pulmonary diseases.
Support
The work is supported by the inter-institutional collaborative research pilot grant program referred to as Biomedical Research Initiation Collaborative (BRICS) Grant.
Collaborators
Dr. Jigme Sethi (UTCOM)
Dr. Abi Arabshahi (SimCenter@UTC)
Test Cases
- SimInhale Benchmark Case
- CT Scan of a Real Patient
Computational Approaches
The computational framework employs the well-established Eulerian-Lagrangian strategy where an Eulerian approach is used to simulate the airflow and a Lagrangian approach is used to obtain the aerosol dynamics. First a validation study will be performed by simulating the SimInhale benchmark case and comparing results with the in vitro measurements. Afterward, the framework will be used to examine the effects of the injection flow rate and the injection type (monodisperse versus polydisperse) on the regional deposition fraction. Finally, the framework will be used to analyze the regional deposition in a realistic model obtained through a high-resolution computerized tomography scan and the results will be compared with the benchmark case.