Martonen T, Isaacs Kristin, Hwang Dongming
Experimental Toxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
Cell Biochem Biophys. 2005;42(3):223-49. doi: 10.1385/CBB:42:3:223.
Information regarding the deposition patterns of inhaled particles has important implications to the fields of medicine and risk assessment. The former concerns the targeted delivery of inhaled pharmacological drugs (aerosol therapy); the latter concerns the risk assessment of inhaled air pollutants (inhalation toxicology). It is well documented in the literature that the behavior and fate of inhaled particles may be formulated using three families of variables: respiratory system morphologies, aerosol characteristics, and ventilatory parameters. It is straightforward to propose that the seminal role is played by morphology per se because the structures of individual airways and their spatial orientations within lungs affect the motion of air and the trajectories of transported particles. In previous efforts, we have developed original algorithms to describe airway networks within lungs and employed them as templates to interpret the results of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECTs) studies. In this work, we have advanced the process of mathematical modeling and computer simulations to produce three-dimensional (3D) images. We have tested the new in silico model by studying two different branching concepts: an inclusive (all airways present) system and a single "typical" pathway system. When viewed with the glasses supplied with this volume, the 3D nature of airway branching networks within lungs as displayed via our original computer graphics software is clear. We submit that the new technology will have numerous and seminal functions in future medical and toxicological regimens, the most fundamental being the creation of a platform to view natural 3D structures in vivo with related biological processes (e.g., disposition of inhaled pharmaceuticals).
有关吸入颗粒沉积模式的信息对医学和风险评估领域具有重要意义。前者涉及吸入性药物（气溶胶疗法）的靶向递送；后者涉及吸入空气污染物的风险评估（吸入毒理学）。文献中充分记载，吸入颗粒的行为和归宿可用三类变量来描述：呼吸系统形态、气溶胶特性和通气参数。很明显，形态本身起着关键作用，因为各个气道的结构及其在肺内的空间取向会影响空气流动和被输送颗粒的轨迹。在之前的工作中，我们开发了描述肺内气道网络的原创算法，并将其用作模板来解释单光子发射计算机断层扫描（SPECT）研究的结果。在这项工作中，我们推进了数学建模和计算机模拟过程以生成三维（3D）图像。我们通过研究两种不同的分支概念对新的计算机模拟模型进行了测试：一个包含所有气道的系统和一个单一的“典型”路径系统。当使用随本书提供的眼镜观看时，通过我们的原始计算机图形软件展示的肺内气道分支网络的3D特性清晰可见。我们认为这项新技术在未来的医学和毒理学方案中将具有众多重要功能，其中最基本的是创建一个平台来在体内观察具有相关生物学过程（例如吸入药物的处置）的天然3D结构。
