Development of in silico human model and its application to indoor environmental design

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18H03807
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 23:Architecture, building engineering, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Ito Kazuhide 九州大学, 総合理工学研究院, 教授 (20329220)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: in silico人体モデル / 計算流体力学 / 経気道曝露 / 経皮曝露 / 室内環境解析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We developed an in silico human model to visualize health risk associated with exposure to contaminated indoor air. In particular, we developed numerical models that can predict inhalation exposure in respiratory tract and dermal exposure by deposition of gas-phase contaminant. Specifically, (1)we newly developed physiologically based pharmacokinetic/toxicokinetic models that reproduce inhalation exposure and dermal exposure, and (2)these models were integrated into the in silico human model that precisely reproduced body surface and respiratory tract geometry. (3) We also established a comprehensive analysis method for human-environment systems that integrates in silico human model and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique. Finally, (4)we conducted demonstrative analyses for e-cigarette smoking in an indoor environment and showed quantitatively the potential effects of e-cigarette smoking on local tissue dosimetry and the deterioration of indoor air quality.

Free Research Field

建築環境工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

建築空間における健康影響評価のための研究手法である被験者実験は，非常に有用なデータ取得が可能である一方，その実施には倫理的制約がある．被験者実験を補完・代替する夕食な手法がコンピュータ上に人体生理を再現したin silico人体モデルによる数値実験法である．本研究では汎用的な室内環境設計に適用される既存の環境解析技術に統合可能で，経気道・経皮曝露を定量的に評価可能な全く新しいコンセプトのin silico人体モデルを開発した．この成果により，不完全混合場を対象とした局所領域環境制御を目的とする自由度の高いパラメトリック解析が可能となる．