Open Access

ARTICLE

Tissue Strains Induced in Airways due to Mechanical Ventilation

Ramana M. Pidaparti^∗,†, Kittisak Koombua^∗,‡

∗ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284
† Reanimation Engineering Shock Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298
‡ This paper is a tribute to Prof. Pin Tong in honor of his 72th birthday, and edited by Dr. David Lam.

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics 2011, 8(2), 149-168. https://doi.org/10.3970/mcb.2011.008.149

Abstract

Better understanding of the stress/strain environment in airway tissues is very important in order to avoid lung injuries for patients undergoing mechanical ventilation for treatment of respiratory problems. Airway tissue strains responsible for stressing the lung's fiber network and rupturing the lung due to compliant airways are very difficult to measure experimentally. A computational model that incorporates the heterogeneity of the airways was developed to study the effects of airway tissue material properties on strain distributions within each layer of the airway wall. The geometry and boundary conditions of the tissue strain analysis were obtained from the organ-level analysis model. Two sets of airway tissue properties (heterogeneous and homogeneous) were considered in order to estimate the strain levels induced within the tissue. The simulation results showed that the homogeneous model overestimated the maximum strain in the mucosa layer and underestimated the maximum strain in the smooth muscle and cartilage layers. The results of strain levels obtained from the tissue analysis are very important because these strains at the cellular-level can create inflammatory responses, thus damaging the airway tissues.

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