Title: Optimization of pulmonary ventilation in humans and all mammals
Summary:
The primary function of the lung is to supply oxygen to the blood and deplete carbon dioxide from the blood. The lung transports respiratory gases by convection and diffusion through its tree-like geometry to an exchange surface called the acinus. However, this transport causes an energy loss during inspiration due to the air flow in the bronchi and the mechanical action of ventilation. We aim to minimize this energy by assuming that our oxygen requirements can be represented in our model by a constraint on the flow of oxygen exchanged with the blood. In this talk, we will focus on the mathematical modeling of gas transport in an idealized lung and the optimization of ventilation in humans but also in all mammals.
