The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a research team at the University of Pittsburgh's schools of engineering and medicine a $1.7 million grant to develop new mathematical models to measure lung activity in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.

Causing chronic infection, inflammation and respiratory failure, CF presents a complex set of symptoms that can complicate physician decisions in terms of treatment. The modeling, based on nuclear imaging, may improve physician interventions for those suffering from CF and other lung diseases.

Robert Parker, PhD, professor of chemical and petroleum engineering at Pitt, and Tim Corcoran, MD, associate professor of medicine, bioengineering and chemical engineering at Pitt, will lead the study.

After sampling and culturing of human nasal epithelial (HNE) cells, Corcoran will use aerosol-based nuclear imaging to measure mucus clearance and airway surface liquid dehydration in the lungs.

"The mathematical models—through a framework of differential equations—describe how basic physiological processes contribute to experimental outcomes," said Parker. "We can link all of the information we've gathered from lab experiments, physiology studies and clinical studies to better predict how a patient will respond to different therapies. By creating millions of simulations over a broad spectrum of patients, we can identify the underlying biological mechanism and understand how the patients will respond to treatment through the painless, non-invasive sampling of the HNE cells."

These models could allow doctors to opt for personal interventions for CF patients.