Simulating ventilation distribution in heterogenous lung injury using a binary tree data structure

To determine the impact of mechanical heterogeneity on the distribution of regional flows and pressures in the injured lung, we developed an anatomic model of the canine lung comprised of an asymmetric branching airway network, which can be stored as binary tree data structure. The entire tree can be traversed using a recursive flow divider algorithm, allowing for efficient computation of acinar flow and pressure distributions in a mechanically heterogeneous lung. These distributions were found to be highly dependent on ventilation frequency and the heterogeneity of tissue elastances, reflecting the preferential distribution of ventilation to areas of lower regional impedance.