AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Development of a Rabbit Deposition Model to Study Inhalation of Anthrax
BAHMAN ASGHARIAN, Owen Price, Senthil Kabilan, Daniel Einstein, Andrew Kupart, Richard Jacob, Richard Corley, Applied Research Associates, Inc.
Abstract Number: 106 Working Group: Health Related Aerosols
Abstract Despite using rabbits in several inhalation exposure experiments to study diseases such as anthrax, there is a lack of understanding regarding deposition characteristics and fate of inhaled particles (bio-aerosols and viruses) in the respiratory tracts of rabbits. Such information allows dosimetric extrapolation to humans to inform human outcomes. The lung geometry of the New Zealand white rabbit was constructed using recently acquired scanned images of the conducting airways of rabbits and available information on its acinar region. In addition, functional relationships were developed for the lung and breathing parameters of rabbits as a function of body weight. The lung geometry and breathing parameters were used to extend the existing deposition model for humans and several other species to rabbits. Confirmation of the deposition model for rabbits was made by comparing predictions with available measurements in the literature. Particle deposition fraction in the lungs of rabbits was found to be relatively low (under 0.2), which was consistent with reported deposition measurements. Together with the deposition model for humans, the rabbit deposition model is a useful tool to interpret collected data in the lab in rabbits or real-life scenarios of human exposure to bio-aerosols and predict disease outcome in people.