Investigation of Gas Redistribution in Doubly Bifurcated Respiratory Channel of Human Lung

Abstract

An oscillatory flow in human lung was investigated with a real scale model channel experimentally. One objective of the present study is to clarify the gas exchange mechanism in the peripheral channel, e.g. from the 18-th to 20-th generations, which are the leading region of gas exchanges. The second object is the inspection of the flow convection under the HFOV (high frequency oscillatory ventilation) condition. The experiment was carried out with a real scale two-dimensional model of airway, instead of using a similarity model, in order to take into account the practical condition of HFOV. The velocity profiles were obtained from ensemble mean measurements and the air trajectories were demonstrated with the ensemble mean velocities in the test section. It was confirmed that the air trajectories of expiration were deviated from those of inspiration in the intermediate zone of our channel. It was predicted that a convective flow mixing might be took place depending on the geometric configuration and the asymmetric compliance ratios of the bronchioles.

Keywords

• human lung
• respiratory region
• hfov
• particle image velocimetry
• pendelluft
• alveoli
• air trajectory