Electro-mechanical Lung Simulator Using Polymer and Organic Human Lung Equivalents for Realistic Breathing Simulation

Paštěka, Richard; Forjan, Mathias; Sauermann, Stefan; Drauschke, Andreas

Electro-mechanical Lung Simulator Using Polymer and Organic Human Lung Equivalents for Realistic Breathing Simulation

Files

s41598019561766.pdf(2.51 MB)

Date

2019-12-24

Authors

Publisher

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

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Abstract

Simulation models in respiratory research are increasingly used for medical product development and testing, especially because in-vivo models are coupled with a high degree of complexity and ethical concerns. This work introduces a respiratory simulation system, which is bridging the gap between the complex, real anatomical environment and the safe, cost-effective simulation methods. The presented electro-mechanical lung simulator, xPULM, combines in-silico, ex-vivo and mechanical respiratory approaches by realistically replicating an actively breathing human lung. The reproducibility of sinusoidal breathing simulations with xPULM was verified for selected breathing frequencies (10-18 bpm) and tidal volumes (400-600 ml) physiologically occurring during human breathing at rest. Human lung anatomy was modelled using latex bags and primed porcine lungs. High reproducibility of flow and pressure characteristics was shown by evaluating breathing cycles (n(Total) = 3273) with highest standard deviation vertical bar 3 sigma vertical bar for both, simplified lung equivalents (mu(V) = 23.98 +/- 1.04 l/min, mu(P) = -0.78 +/- 0.63 hPa) and primed porcine lungs (mu(V) = 18.87 +/- 2.49 l/min, mu(P) = -21.13 +/- 1.47 hPa). The adaptability of the breathing simulation parameters, coupled with the use of porcine lungs salvaged from a slaughterhouse process, represents an advancement towards anatomically and physiologically realistic modelling of human respiration.

Keywords

respiration simulation; biomedical electromechanical; systems, alternative to animal testing, lung simulation, primed porcine lungs, biomedical engineering education

Citation

Scientific Reports. 2019, vol. 9, issue 9, p. 1-12.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-56176-6#article-info

Document type

Peer-reviewed

Document version

Published version

Language of document

en

Document licence

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/