A multiscale analytical model of bronchial airway acoustics.

Abstract

Sound transmission and resulting airway wall vibration in a complex multiscale viscoelastic model of the subglottal bronchial tree was calculated using a modified one-dimensional (1D) branching acoustic waveguide approach. This is an extension of previous work to enable use of complex airway trees that are partially derived from subject-specific medical images, without the need for self-similarity in the geometric structure. The approach was validated numerically for simplified airway geometries, as well as experimentally by comparison to previous studies. A comprehensive conducting airway tree with about 60 000 branches was then modified to create fibrotic, bronchoconstrictive, and pulmonary infiltrate conditions. The fibrotic case-systemic increase in soft tissue stiffness-increased the Helmholtz resonance frequency due to the increased acoustic impedance. Bronchoconstriction, with geometric changes in small conducting airways, decreased acoustic energy transmission to the peripheral airways due in part to the increased impedance mismatch between airway orders. Pulmonary infiltrate significantly altered the local acoustic field in the affected lobe. Calculation of acoustic differences between healthy versus pathologic cases can be used to enhance the understanding of vibro-acoustic changes correlated to pathology, and potentially provide improved tools for the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases that uniquely alter the acoustics of the airways.