Fractional order models of the human respiratory system
type: CreativeWork
description: The fractional calculus is a generalization of classical integer-order integration and derivation to fractional (non-integer) order operators. Fractional order (FO) models are those models which contain such fractional order operators. A common representation of these models is in frequency domain, due to its simplicity. The dynamical systems whose model can be approximated in a natural way using FO terms, exhibit specific features, such as viscoelasticity, diffusion and a fractal structure; hence the respiratory system is an ideal application for FO models. Although viscoelastic and diffusive properties were intensively investigated in the respiratory system, the fractal structure was ignored. Probably one of the reasons is that the respiratory system does not pose a perfect symmetry, hence failing to satisfy one of the conditions for being a typical fractal structure. In the 70s, the respiratory impedance determined by the ratio of air-pressure and air-flow, has been introduced in a model structure containing a FO term. It has also been shown that the fractional order models outperform integer-order models on input impedance measurements. However, there was a lack of underpinning theory to clarify the appearance of the fractional order in the FO model structure. The thesis describes a physiologically consistent approach to reach twofold objectives: 1. to provide a physiologically-based mathematical explanation for the necessity of fractional order models for the input impedance, and 2. to determine the capability of the best fractional order model to classify between healthy and pathological cases. Rather than dealing with a specific case study, the modelling approach presents a general method which can be used not only in the respiratory system application, but also in other similar systems (e.g. leaves, circulatory system, liver, intestines). Furthermore, we consider also the case when symmetry is not present (e.g. deformations in the thorax - kyphoscoliose) as …
abstract: The fractional calculus is a generalization of classical integer-order integration and derivation to fractional (non-integer) order operators. Fractional order (FO) models are those models which contain such fractional order operators. A common representation of these models is in frequency domain, due to its simplicity. The dynamical systems whose model can be approximated in a natural way using FO terms, exhibit specific features, such as viscoelasticity, diffusion and a fractal structure; hence the respiratory system is an ideal application for FO models. Although viscoelastic and diffusive properties were intensively investigated in the respiratory system, the fractal structure was ignored. Probably one of the reasons is that the respiratory system does not pose a perfect symmetry, hence failing to satisfy one of the conditions for being a typical fractal structure. In the 70s, the respiratory impedance determined by the ratio of air-pressure and air-flow, has been introduced in a model structure containing a FO term. It has also been shown that the fractional order models outperform integer-order models on input impedance measurements. However, there was a lack of underpinning theory to clarify the appearance of the fractional order in the FO model structure. The thesis describes a physiologically consistent approach to reach twofold objectives: 1. to provide a physiologically-based mathematical explanation for the necessity of fractional order models for the input impedance, and 2. to determine the capability of the best fractional order model to classify between healthy and pathological cases. Rather than dealing with a specific case study, the modelling approach presents a general method which can be used not only in the respiratory system application, but also in other similar systems (e.g. leaves, circulatory system, liver, intestines). Furthermore, we consider also the case when symmetry is not present (e.g. deformations in the thorax - kyphoscoliose) as …
author: Ionescu, Clara
language: eng
keywords: Technology and Engineering
date published: 2009
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:23:03Z
provider: Ghent University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Ghent University. Faculty of Engineering

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-790108