Development of an integrated Face-Upper airway model

Other conference contribution, 2025

In recent years, drug delivery to the nose and lungs has again gained an increased interest, both for local and systemic treatment, now with the valuable addition of new chemical modalities and improved in-silico deposition prediction.
 
This study aims to demonstrate the influence of a realistic infant airway model on the delivery of a respirable aerosol for improved understanding and to better predict drug delivery to the lungs.

To further expand the in-vitro characterization capabilities for paediatric development programs, an advanced upper airway model, “Frank”, representing a 2-year-old child has been developed. The model is originally based on scans of a 35-year-old male which has been scaled to represent approx. a 2-year-old child using published, tabular data.

The aerosol filtering effect of the Frank model has been investigated at flow rates representative of the age group (3.5 and 7 L/min) and using a soft mist inhaler.

A 50% reduction of the aerosol dose passing the airway model compared to reference runs without model, was found.