Respiration is a dynamic process accompanied by morphological changes in the airways. Although deformation of large airways is expected to exacerbate pulmonary disease symptoms by obstructing airflow during increased minute ventilation, its quantitative effects on airflow characteristics remain unclear. Here, we used in vivo dynamic imaging and examined the effects of tracheal deformation on airflow characteristics under different conditions based on imaging data from a single healthy volunteer. First, we measured tracheal deformation profiles of a healthy lung using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during forced exhalation, which we simulated to characterize the subject-specific airflow patterns. Subsequently, for both inhalation and exhalation, we compared the airflows when the modeled deformation in tracheal cross-sectional area was 0% (rigid), 33% (mild), 50% (moderate), or 75% (severe). We quantified differences in airflow patterns between deformable and rigid airways by computing the correlation coefficients () and the root-mean-square of differences () between their velocity contours. For both inhalation and exhalation, airflow patterns were similar in all branches between the rigid and mild conditions ( > 0.9; < 32%). However, airflow characteristics in the moderate and severe conditions differed markedly from those in the rigid and mild conditions in all lung branches, particularly for inhalation (moderate: > 0.1, < 76%; severe: > 0.2, < 96%). Our exemplar study supports the use of a rigid airway assumption to compute flows for mild deformation. For moderate or severe deformation, however, dynamic contraction should be considered, especially during inhalation, to accurately predict airflow and elucidate the underlying pulmonary pathology.
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November 2019
Research-Article
Dynamics of the Tracheal Airway and Its Influences on Respiratory Airflows: An Exemplar Study
Bora Sul,
Bora Sul
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the
Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD 20817;
Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD 20817;
Department of Defense Biotechnology High
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
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Talissa Altes,
Talissa Altes
Department of Radiology,
University of Missouri,
Columbia, MO 65212
University of Missouri,
Columbia, MO 65212
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Kai Ruppert,
Kai Ruppert
Department of Radiology,
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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Kun Qing,
Kun Qing
Department of Radiology,
University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA 22908
University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA 22908
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Daniel S. Hariprasad,
Daniel S. Hariprasad
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the
Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD 20817;
Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD 20817;
Department of Defense Biotechnology High
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Search for other works by this author on:
Michael Morris,
Michael Morris
Graduate Medical Education,
Brooke Army Medical Center,
Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston,
San Antonio, TX 78234
Brooke Army Medical Center,
Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston,
San Antonio, TX 78234
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Jaques Reifman,
Jaques Reifman
Department of Defense Biotechnology High
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
e-mail: jaques.reifman.civ@mail.mil
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
e-mail: jaques.reifman.civ@mail.mil
1Corresponding author.
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Anders Wallqvist
Anders Wallqvist
Department of Defense Biotechnology High
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Search for other works by this author on:
Bora Sul
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the
Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD 20817;
Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD 20817;
Department of Defense Biotechnology High
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Talissa Altes
Department of Radiology,
University of Missouri,
Columbia, MO 65212
University of Missouri,
Columbia, MO 65212
Kai Ruppert
Department of Radiology,
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Kun Qing
Department of Radiology,
University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA 22908
University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA 22908
Daniel S. Hariprasad
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the
Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD 20817;
Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc.,
Bethesda, MD 20817;
Department of Defense Biotechnology High
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Michael Morris
Graduate Medical Education,
Brooke Army Medical Center,
Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston,
San Antonio, TX 78234
Brooke Army Medical Center,
Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston,
San Antonio, TX 78234
Jaques Reifman
Department of Defense Biotechnology High
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
e-mail: jaques.reifman.civ@mail.mil
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
e-mail: jaques.reifman.civ@mail.mil
Anders Wallqvist
Department of Defense Biotechnology High
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
Performance Computing Software
Applications Institute,
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology
Research Center,
United States Army Medical Research and
Materiel Command,
MCMR-TT,
504 Scott Street,
Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5012
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received January 31, 2019; final manuscript received May 1, 2019; published online July 31, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Ching-Long Lin.The work was authored in part by a U.S. Government employee in the scope of his/her employment. ASME disclaims all interest in the U.S. Government's contribution.
J Biomech Eng. Nov 2019, 141(11): 111009 (12 pages)
Published Online: July 31, 2019
Article history
Received:
January 31, 2019
Revised:
May 1, 2019
Citation
Sul, B., Altes, T., Ruppert, K., Qing, K., Hariprasad, D. S., Morris, M., Reifman, J., and Wallqvist, A. (July 31, 2019). "Dynamics of the Tracheal Airway and Its Influences on Respiratory Airflows: An Exemplar Study." ASME. J Biomech Eng. November 2019; 141(11): 111009. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4043723
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