Abstract
In the last decades, the air pollution lead to an increase in the impact of the particle deposition in human lungs, especially with respect to respiratory diseases. Since the airway bifurcations are difficult regions to investigate, the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be an alternative to the study of pharmaceutical aerosols that are used to the treatment of some respiratory diseases. In this study, the particle deposition was analyzed in a three-dimensional model of four ramifications or three bifurcations during three different situations: inhalation, exhalation and breath holding. The aim was to verify the medical recommendations to hold the breath during few seconds after inhale the pharmaceutical aerosols by comparison of the deposition of particles with 5 μm diameter. The numerical results of deposition during inhalation was compared to experimental data from the literature and showed good agreements. The results showed that the number of collected aerosols in the airway walls was greater for the situation of breath holding, which, in fact, confirms the medical recommendations. During the exhalation, the particles leave the domain, which would not be an interesting action after inhale the medicines.
Highlights
The particle deposition in human lungs has been largely studied due to the fast growth of the cities and the industrialization process
These data reveal that studies on air flow and particle deposition in human lung airways need to be in constant development
The present study aims the analysis of particle deposition during situations of inhalation, exhalation and breath holding in a portion of human lung, using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
Summary
The particle deposition in human lungs has been largely studied due to the fast growth of the cities and the industrialization process. The World Health Organization (WHO) presented the 10 leading causes of death in the world, in 2011, and three of them are related to respiratory diseases (lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and trachea, bronchus and lung cancers). These data reveal that studies on air flow and particle deposition in human lung airways need to be in constant development. The capability to predict the deposition of pharmaceutical aerosols on the internal surfaces of respiratory tract is important to ensure that the regions affected by the diseases receive the drugs and avoid losses of medicine aerosols
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