Penetration of inhaled aerosols in the bronchial tree

Abstract

It has long been recognized that the pattern of particle deposition in the respiratory tree affects how far aerosols penetrate into the deeper zones of the arterial tree, and hence contribute to either their pathogenic potential or therapeutic benefit. In this paper, we introduce an anatomically-inspired model of the human respiratory tree featuring the generations 0-7 in the Weibel model of respiratory tree (i.e., the conducting zone). This model is used to study experimentally the dynamics of inhaled aerosol particles (0.5-20µm aerodynamic diameter), in terms of the penetration fraction of particles (i.e., the fraction of inflowing particles that leave the flow system) during typical breathing patterns. Our study underline important modifications in the penetration patterns for coarse particles compared to fine particles. Our experiments suggest a significant decrease of particle penetration for large-sized particles and higher respiratory frequencies. Dimensionless numbers are also introduced to further understand the particle penetration into the respiratory tree. A decline is seen in the penetration fraction with decreasing Reynolds number and increasing Stokes number. A simple conceptual framework is presented to provide additional insights into the findings obtained.

Keywords: Aerosols; Breathing patterns; Deposition; Hess–Murray law; Lungs; Penetration; Respiratory tree; Reynolds number; Stokes number.