This research develops a detailed, anatomically-based model of the human pulmonary circulatory system from the large scale arterial and venous vessels, to the microcirculatory alveolar-capillary unit. Flow is modelled through these networks enabling structure-function simulations to be conducted to increase our understanding of this complex system.Voronoi meshing is applied in a novel technique to represent the three-dimensional structure of the alveoli, and the corresponding capillary plexus intimately wrapped over the alveolar surface. This technique is used to create the alveolar-capillary structure of a single alveolar sac, closely representing the geometry measured in anatomical studies.A Poiseuille type flow solution technique is implemented within the capillary geometry. The solution procedure incorporates calculations of red and white blood cell transit time frequencies. Novel predictions of regional microcirculatory blood cell transit in the anatomically-realistic alveolar-capillary model compare well with experimental measures.An anatomically-based finite element model of the arterial and venous vessels, down to the level of their accompanying respiratory bronchioles, is created using a combination of imaging and computational algorithms, which includes generation of supernumerary vessels. Large arterial and venous vessels and lobar geometries are derived from multi-detector row x-ray computed tomography (MDCT) scans. From these MDCT vessel end points a volume-filling branching algorithm is used to generate the remaining blood vessels that accompany the airways into the MDCT-derived host volume. An empirically-based algorithm generates supernumerary blood vessels - unaccompanied by airways that branch to supply the closest parenchymal tissue. This new approach produces a model of pulmonary vascular geometry that is far more anatomically-realistic than previous models in the literature.A reduced form of the Navier-Stokes equations are solved within the vascular geometries to yield pressure, radius, and velocity distributions. Inclusion of a gravitational term in the governing equations allows application of the model in investigating the relative effects of gravity, structure, and posture on regional perfusion.Gravity is shown to have a lesser influence on blood flow distribution than suggested by earlier experimental studies, and by comparison between different model solutions the magnitude of the gravitational flow gradient is predicted. This study clearly demonstrates the significant role that symmetric vascular branching has in determining the distribution of blood flow. The influence of branching geometry is revealed by solution in symmetric, human, and ovine vascular models.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/274422 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Burrowes, Kelly Suzanne |
| Publisher | ResearchSpace@Auckland |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated., http://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm, Copyright: The author |
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