A unique engineering perspective of emphysema progression in the lung suggests how mechanisms operating at the micromechanical scale could help to predict patient survival and quality of life following treatment — according to new research published in PLOS Computational Biology.
Researchers from Boston University established a computational model of emphysema and showed that treatment responses were directly related to the specific redistribution of mechanical forces within the lung after intervention.
This is the first study to directly compare newer, less invasive lung volume reduction techniques, such as novel biomaterial-based lung sealants and coils, with traditional surgical approaches, demonstrating comparable model predictions for immediate and long-term treatment efficacy.
