USING NONLINEAR RESPIRATORY MECHANICS TO OPTIMIZE THE RESPIRATORY SIGNALS UNDER EUCAPNIC AND HYPERCAPNIC CONDITIONS
In this study, the optimal chemical-mechanical respiratory control model was modified to include nonlinear respiratory mechanics with a lumped viscous resistance of the flow through the entire respiratory system, and a flow resistance that is proportional to the power of the flow rate. To evaluate the optimality of the system, a quadratic rising neuromuscular drive was applied to a neuro-mechanical effector and the respiratory signals were optimized under hypercapnia and eucapnia conditions. A continuous resistive load was imposed to compare the model behavior of respiratory mechanical loading with normal load. The optimized respiratory signals were demonstrated and the ventilatory responses with the optimized breathing patterns were examined. Our results showed that the nonlinear model acquired the intended level of ventilation with higher tidal volume VT and lower breathing frequency F during CO2 inhalation and lower VT and higher F during exercise.