15 - "Digital breaths: biophysically-based models to link respiratory system structure and function"
Host: Professor Merryn Tawhai
Deputy Director of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute
University of Auckland
Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi (RSNZ)
Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
Fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering
2016 recipient of the RSNZ MacDiarmid Medal
ABSTRACT:
Auckland Bioengineering Institute is developing an imaging, statistical and biophysically-based lung model to predict patient-specific response to various interventions and treatments. This digital lung spans from the nasal and oral airways to the deepest smallest parts of the lung, and connects to sophisticated models of the pulmonary circulation, heart, and systemic circulation. The model incorporates imaging and lung function data from healthy subjects across the adult lifespan. The ultimate goal is to provide a comprehensive tool to predictively test interventional approaches and therapies, and to provide mechanistic insight into imaging-based biomarkers.
SHORT BIO:
Professor Merryn Tawhai is Deputy Director of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute at the University of Auckland. Her research in developing anatomically-detailed multi-scale models of the lung brings together cell function, tissue mechanics, and transport and exchange processes to link patient-specific lung structure with simulation of function. Professor Tawhai is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi (RSNZ), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering, and was the 2016 recipient of the RSNZ MacDiarmid Medal.
