MODELLING VENTILATION IN ADULT AND NEONATAL LUNGS
by
Alys Clark
Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland
Coauthors: Alka Iyengar, Merryn Tawhai

The lung airways form an asymmetric branching structure which transport gas from the air to peripheral alveoli where gas exchange with the blood takes place. Resistance to airflow and a regionally varying lung tissue compliance contribute to ventilation heterogeneities in the normally functioning human lung. These heterogeneities must be well understood in order to gain insight into changes in ventilation distribution in diseased lungs and to develop resuscitation strategies.

Here we present a computational model of ventilation in a fully developed adult lung as well as the lung of a neonate. We show there is a considerable difference in ventilation distribution between adult and infant lungs. We describe the effects of airway resistance and tissue compliance on ventilation distribution and how our model may provide insight into infant resuscitation strategies.

Date received: January 11, 2010