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Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Author Spotlight: Integrating Alveolar-Capillary Reserve Measurements in Exercise Adaptation and Therapeutic Strategies
Published on: February 2, 2024
Calculated ventilation and effort distribution as a measure of respiratory disease and Heliox effectiveness
N Pozin1, S Montesantos2, I Katz3
1INRIA Paris, 2 Rue Simone Iff, 75012 Paris, France; Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, Laboratoire Jacques-Louis Lions, 75252 Paris, France; Medical R&D, WBL Healthcare, Air Liquide Santé International, 1 Chemin de la Porte des Loges, 78350 Les Loges-en-Josas, France.
Abstract:
In spite of numerous clinical studies, there is no consensus on the benefit Heliox mixtures can bring to asthmatic patients in terms of work of breathing and ventilation distribution. In this article we use a 3D finite element mathematical model of the lung to study the impact of asthma on effort and ventilation distribution along with the effect of Heliox compared to air. Lung surface displacement fields extracted from computed tomography medical images are used to prescribe realistic boundary conditions to the model. Asthma is simulated by imposing bronchoconstrictions to some airways of the tracheo-bronchial tree based on statistical laws deduced from the literature. This study illuminates potential mechanisms for patient responsiveness to Heliox when affected by obstructive pulmonary diseases. Responsiveness appears to be function of the pathology severity, as well as its distal position in the tracheo-bronchial tree and geometrical position within the lung.
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