We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Numerical simulation of flow for viscoelastic neutrophil models in a rectangular capillary network: Effects of capillary shape and cell stiffness on transit time.
- Authors
Shirai, Atsushi; Fujuta, Ryo; Hayase, Toshiyuki
- Abstract
The concentration of neutrophils in the pulmonary microvasculature is higher than in large systemic vessels. It is thought that the high concentration of neutrophils facilitates their effective recruitment to sites of inflammation. Thus, in order to understand the role of neutrophils in the immune system, it is important to clarify their flow characteristics in the pulmonary microvasculature. In a previous study, we developed a model to simulate the flow of neutrophils in a capillary network, in which the cells were modeled as spheres of a Maxwell material with a cortical tension and the capillary segments were modeled as arc-shaped constrictions in straight pipes. In the present paper, the flow of neutrophils in a simplified alveolar capillary network model is investigated for various constriction shapes and cell stiffnesses. Finally, it is shown that both the coefficient of variation of the transit time of the cells, which is the standard deviation divided by the mean transit time, and the mean transit time increase as the capillary segments become steep or tight, or when the cells become hard. The mean value of the transit time exceeds the median for all of the conditions that occur in real lungs, although the difference between them is small.
- Subjects
VISCOELASTIC materials; NEUTROPHILS; MICROCIRCULATION disorders; IMMUNE system; COMPUTER simulation; GRANULOCYTES; CELLS; CAPILLARIES
- Publication
Technology & Health Care, 2007, Vol 15, Issue 2, p131
- ISSN
0928-7329
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3233/thc-2007-15207