Lung divisions for models of cardiopulmonary interaction – preliminary tests

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: The perfusion of a part of the lung depends on its distance from the pulmonary trunk (differences in vascular resistance) and on the horizontal plane (differences in hydrostatic pressure). The aim of this study was to determine the geometric parameters characterising their positions and sizes in order to analyse the diffusion of the ventilation/perfusion ratio. Material and methods: A developed virtual respiratory system has been supplemented with an appropriate model of pulmonary circulation that uses a lung outline that is divided into parts based on an anatomical atlas and a CT image; it comprises a 3D geometric model of the lungs that was developed using the Inventor CAD software (Autodesk, Inc, San Francisco, USA). Each panel was divided into 2 horizontal and 8 vertical parts; the 16-part division was then modified. Results: When taking human lungs as a research object and simulating their accompanying physical, biological, or biochemical phenomena, one necessary task is to construct a spatial model of the lungs that takes into account, and maintains awareness of, the limitations of the source of data that is relied upon. The developed modified geometric model of lung division turned out to be useful and was successfully applied to a virtual patient, among others, as part of the VirRespir project. Conclusions: Finally, we can conclude that the virtual cardiorespiratory system thus elaborated may serve as a proper tool for the preliminary analysis of such complex interactions, considering the elaborated model of the lung’s divisions and its future improvements.