Pulmonary Medicine, Applications of Biomedical Engineering to

Abstract

AbstractPulmonary medicine is concerned with preventing and treating diseases that affect the lungs as well as the entire respiratory system, i.e., the muscles that create the pressures needed to bring air into and out of the lungs, as well as the sensors and the respiratory neurons that set the level and pattern of breathing. The respiratory system provides oxygen for body metabolic needs and rapidly removes in the form of carbon dioxide the acids produced as a result of metabolic processes. It is functionally and structurally linked to other systems such as the cardiovascular and renal system, which also act to maintain tissue oxygenation and acid–base balance.The lung is the primary interface of the respiratory system with the outside world, and because breathing involves the daily exchange of almost 7500 L of air containing microorganisms and injurious particles, the lung is the part of the respiratory system most commonly affected by disease. However, disease can affect any part of the respiratory system. Unchecked, some respiratory diseases lead to respiratory failure characterized by hypoxia and elevated levels of carbon dioxide. In addition, intermittent hypoxia and hypercapnia can occur during sleep as a consequence of episodic upper airway obstruction.Bioengineering applies the basic scientific approaches of biology, physics, chemistry, and engineering to the medicine of the respiratory system to develop mathematical models, which describe and explain pathophysiological processes and develop instruments and diagnostic processes to treat or support the respiratory system.