Abstract
Respiratory diseases have received increasing attention in recent decades. Airway bifurcations are difficult regions to study, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) offers an alternative way of evaluating the behavior of pharmaceutical aerosols used in the treatment of respiratory disorders. In this work, particle deposition was analyzed using a three-dimensional model with four ramifications (three bifurcations), under different respiratory conditions: inhalation, exhalation, and breath holding. The main aim of the work was to verify the medical recommendation to hold one's breath during a few seconds after inhaling pharmaceutical aerosols, rather than exhaling immediately after the inhalation. The deposition of particles with 5 µm diameter was considered. The results showed that the number of aerosols collected on the airway walls was higher for the situation of breath holding, which supported the medical recommendation.
Keywords:
Pharmaceutical aerosols; Lung airway bifurcations; Computational fluid dynamics
