Open Access

ARTICLE

Cellular Automata Modeling of Pulmonary Inflammation

Angela Reynolds^∗,†, Kittisak Koombua^‡, Ramana M. Pidaparti^{†,‡, §}, Kevin R. Ward^†,¶

∗ Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Virginia Commonwealth University
† Reanimation Engineering Science Center, Virginia Commonwealth University
‡ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University
§ Corresponding author. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, 401 W. Main Street, Room E3252, Richmond, VA 23284, E-mail: rmpidaparti@vcu.edu
¶ Department of Emergency Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics 2012, 9(2), 141-156. https://doi.org/10.3970/mcb.2012.009.141

Abstract

Better understanding of the acute/chronic inflammation in airways is very important in order to avoid lung injuries for patients undergoing mechanical ventilation for treatment of respiratory problems. Local lung inflammation is triggered by many mechanisms within the lung, including pathogens. In this study, a cellular automata based model (CA) for pulmonary inflammation that incorporates biophysical processes during inflammatory responses was developed. The developed CA results in three possible outcomes related to homeostasis (healing), persistent infection, and resolved infection with high inflammation (inflamed state). The results from the model are validated qualitatively against other existing computational models. A sensitivity analysis was conducted on the model parameters and the outcomes were assessed. Overall, the model results showed possible outcomes that have been seen in clinical practice and animal models. The present model can be extended to include inflammation resulting from damage tissue and eventually to model inflammation resulting from acute lung injury and multiple organ dysfunction syndromes in critical illness and injury.

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Keywords

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