A Review of Respiratory Anatomical Development, Air Flow Characterization and Particle Deposition
by
Mohammad S. Islam 1
, Gunther Paul 2, Hui X. Ong 3, Paul M. Young 3, Y. T. Gu 4 and 
Suvash C. Saha 1,*
Mohammad S. Islam 1, Gunther Paul 2, Hui X. Ong 3, Paul M. Young 3, Y. T. Gu 4 and Suvash C. Saha 1,*
1
School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
2
Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Mackay, QLD 4741, Australia
3
Respiratory Technology, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Discipline of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, 431 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, NSW 2037, Australia
4
School of Chemistry, Physics & Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology 2 George Street, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(2), 380; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020380
Received: 13 December 2019 / Revised: 31 December 2019 / Accepted: 31 December 2019 / Published: 7 January 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Respiratory Health)
The understanding of complex inhalation and transport processes of pollutant particles through the human respiratory system is important for investigations into dosimetry and respiratory health effects in various settings, such as environmental or occupational health. The studies over the last few decades for micro- and nanoparticle transport and deposition have advanced the understanding of drug-aerosol impacts in the mouth-throat and the upper airways. However, most of the Lagrangian and Eulerian studies have utilized the non-realistic symmetric anatomical model for airflow and particle deposition predictions. Recent improvements to visualization techniques using high-resolution computed tomography (CT) data and the resultant development of three dimensional (3-D) anatomical models support the realistic representation of lung geometry. Yet, the selection of different modelling approaches to analyze the transitional flow behavior and the use of different inlet and outlet conditions provide a dissimilar prediction of particle deposition in the human lung. Moreover, incorporation of relevant physical and appropriate boundary conditions are important factors to consider for the more accurate prediction of transitional flow and particle transport in human lung. This review critically appraises currently available literature on airflow and particle transport mechanism in the lungs, as well as numerical simulations with the aim to explore processes involved. Numerical studies found that both the Euler–Lagrange (E-L) and Euler–Euler methods do not influence nanoparticle (particle diameter ≤50 nm) deposition patterns at a flow rate ≤25 L/min. Furthermore, numerical studies demonstrated that turbulence dispersion does not significantly affect nanoparticle deposition patterns. This critical review aims to develop the field and increase the state-of-the-art in human lung modelling.
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Keywords:
airflow; particle transport; particle deposition; particle-particle interaction; Euler-Lagrange method; Euler-Euler approach
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MDPI and ACS Style
Islam, M.S.; Paul, G.; Ong, H.X.; Young, P.M.; Gu, Y.T.; Saha, S.C. A Review of Respiratory Anatomical Development, Air Flow Characterization and Particle Deposition. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 380.
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