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Helium-Oxygen Mixture Model for Particle Transport in CT-Based Upper Airways
Mohammad S Islam1, YuanTong Gu2, Arpad Farkas3
1School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), 15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia.
Summary
Breathing a helium-oxygen mixture reduces aerosol particle deposition in the upper airways. This finding can improve targeted drug delivery to the lungs by minimizing deposition in the upper respiratory tract.
Area of Science:
- Respiratory physiology
- Aerosol science
- Biomedical engineering
Background:
- Particle deposition in upper airways limits drug delivery efficiency.
- Targeted drug delivery to lungs requires minimizing upper airway deposition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To minimize unwanted aerosol particle deposition in upper airways.
- To investigate heliox (helium-oxygen) gas mixture for aerosol transport.
Main Methods:
- Simulated airflow and particle transport using a heliox mixture model.
- Utilized CT-scan data for mouth-throat and upper airway geometry.
- Employed ANSYS Fluent, Tecplot, and MATLAB for simulation and post-processing.
Main Results:
- Heliox breathing resulted in lower turbulence intensity compared to air.
- Reduced turbulence with heliox led to decreased deposition efficiency in upper airways.
Conclusions:
- Heliox gas mixture can reduce upper airway particle deposition.
- Findings may enhance understanding of particle transport and improve aerosol drug delivery efficiency.
Keywords:
helium–oxygen mixturemouth–throat modelparticle depositionparticle transporttargeted drug delivery
