2022 Annual Meeting

Dynamic Simulation of Alveoli Function Under COVID-19 Stress: A Microfluidic and Toxicological Approach

The invasive and infectious virus known as COVID-19 has taken its toll on our world and continues to do so to this day. The Coronavirus is a disease which causes those infected to have fevers/chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, etc. Although new information on this virus continues to be discovered, since the start of the Coronavirus our knowledge of this infectious disease has increased significantly. Whether at domestic level or at the working place, everyone is to some degree subject to exposure of becoming infected with this illness.

Researchers today are becoming more educated on how COVID-19 affects the alveoli function and therefore the transfer of oxygen to our blood stream. The respiratory tract is one of the most important entry routes to severe and deadly illnesses. It is important to study and analyze how these entities enter the bloodstream and how they affect our breathing capacity. The Coronavirus has shown to cause acute to severe damage to the walls of the alveoli which can possibly cause chronical lung damage. The specific location where the mass transport occurs is at the alveoli membrane; therefore, it is reasonable that the focus of study might be directed to the alveoli function.

In this contribution, the main emphasis is on understanding the mechanism by which chemicals are transported in a single alveoli cell as well as in an alveolar sac. The approach is based on modeling and simulation applied first to the movement of fluid and later to the species transport part of the system. In addition, the analysis has been conducted in transient state to capture the true nature of the respiratory phenomenon. Based on the selection of parameter values for respiratory rate and concentrations within permissible levels, several limiting cases are discussed with interesting conclusions. The effects of different induced pressure values, as those typically used with tracheal intubated patients, on the alveoli system surface are illustrated.