Asymmetric human lung morphology induce particle deposition variation

The effect of lung morphology on the heterogeneity of regional ventilation and particle deposition in the bronchial airways is studied using Horsfield's regular-asymmetric lung model. Flow distribution among the airways is calculated by solving the whole tree network, assuming laminar flow hydrodynamic resistances without accounting for gravitationally enhanced preferential airflow distribution. The variation of morphological properties, such as the lung volume and surface area distal to any airway generation, and physiological properties, such as ventilation and particle deposition, is calculated, and fractal dimensions that characterize these properties and processes are computed. The close agreement between the model fractal dimension characterizing ventilation and those found from clinical data assess the validity of the model. It is shown that the fractal dimensions that characterize the morphological properties and the physiological processes are similar, suggesting that all are related and stem from a common underlying attribute—the lung morphology. The variation of particle deposition in the lung, as well as the variation of ventilation and morphological attributes, increases moderately with the lung tree asymmetry. The deposition density, regarded as a key exposure metric or therapeutic index, does not follow a spatial scale-free distribution.