Team 13 (Bruno Louis and Marcel Filoche), in collaboration with the team of Prof. Jim Grotberg (University of Michigan) recently developed the first physico-mathematical model of fluid administration by tracheo-bronchial airways

We work for several years with Pr. Jim Grotberg the University of Michigan (Biomedical Engineering Department) on various aspects of transport in the lung airways.
The surfactant replacement therapy is a technique that involves administering intratracheally by the surfactant that lines the deep areas of the lungs and allows it to change the volume evenly and without excessive effort. This surfactant product is one month prematurely, and therefore absent in very premature, hence the appearance of major respiratory disorders (Respiratory Distress Syndrome).
The links between administration methods, physicochemical properties of the surfactant and pulmonary geometry is complex and interpretations of clinical results are mostly based on empirical knowledge. In particular, this technique has produced good results in infants, was a failure in adults for the treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS or) without really knowing why. Important decisions of abandonment of therapeutic approaches have sometimes been taken from these trials.
With Jim Grotberg, we have developed the first physical-mathematical model of liquid tracheobronchial administration route, and we showed that conventional assumptions well mixed compartment that are presupposed in clinical trials are not always verified, according the size of the subject, the method of administration or properties of surfactant. This work paves the way for a complete revisiting of past trials and a possible reopening of abandoned therapeutic pathways for reasons perhaps erroneous. This work is published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA) July 28, 2015