Prediction of particle deposition in the respiratory track using 3D–1D modeling

Airflow simulation of the whole respiratory system is still unfeasible due to the geometrical complexity of the lung airways and the diversity of the length scales involved in the problem. Even the new CT imaging system is not capable of providing accurate 3D geometries for smaller tubes, and a complete 3D simulation is impeded by the limited computational resources available. The aim of this study is to develop a fully coupled 3D–1D model to make accurate prediction of airflow and particle deposition in the whole respiratory track, with reasonable computational cost and efficiency. In the new proposed method, the respiratory tree is divided into three parts to be dealt with using different models. A three dimensional model is used to compute the airflow in the upper part of the tree, while the distal part is studied using a 1D model. A lumped model is also used for the acinar region. The three models are coupled together by implementing the physical boundary conditions at the model interfaces. In the end, this multiscale model is used to find the deposition pattern of particles within a sample lung.