Evaluation of Ventilation-Induced Lung Inflammation Through Multi-Scale Simulations

Area of Science:

• * Biomedical Engineering
• * Computational Biology
• * Respiratory Medicine

Background:

• * Mechanical ventilation (MV) is crucial for patients with respiratory failure but can induce lung injury.
• * Ventilation-induced lung injury (VILI) exacerbates acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), complicating treatment.
• * VILI involves a multi-scale cascade: immune response, inflammation, tissue stiffening, and loss of lung resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To develop and demonstrate a multi-scale computational model for assessing ventilation-induced lung injury.
• * To integrate models of breathing mechanics, tissue deformation, and cellular immune response.
• * To analyze the interplay between mechanical forces, tissue alterations, and immune reactions in the lungs.

Main Methods:

• * A multi-scale system combining fluid-solid, plane-strain elasticity, and cellular automata (CA) models.
• * Fluid-solid model for breathing mechanics and airflow characterization.
• * Plane-strain elasticity model for tissue deformation analysis.
• * CA model for simulating and quantifying the immune response.

Main Results:

• * The CA model indicated a fivefold increase in immune response, correlating with microstructural tissue alterations.
• * Tissue alterations were reflected in changes to the material constant in the tissue mechanics model.
• * Changes in airway strain rates and lung compliance were less significant than immune response changes.
• * The fluid-solid model showed potential for airflow characterization linked to tissue deformation.

Conclusions:

• * The developed multi-scale model effectively simulates ventilation-induced lung injury.
• * Immune response and tissue microstructure alterations are key factors in VILI.
• * The model provides insights into disease identification through airflow and tissue deformation analysis.
• * This approach aids in understanding and potentially mitigating VILI.