Peter W. Scherer, M.D.,
Ph.D.
scherer@seas.upenn.edu
Lab
Page
Professor of Bioengineering; Professor of Anesthesia; Member of
the Monell Institute of the Chemical Senses
B.S., Chemistry, Haverford College, 1964
Ph.D., Engineering and Applied Science, Yale University, 1971
M.D., Yale University, 1973
Research Interests
We are developing a technique to recover cardiac output and mixed
venous pCO2 blood concentration noninvasively from single breath
CO2 washout recorded at the mouth. The basis of this method is the
matching of predictions of a single path theoretical model (SPM)
to the subject's experimentally recorded CO2 washout data. This
application of the SPM has greatly increased understanding of intra
airway gas transport.
We have developed 3-D finite element models of airflow in the human
and rat nasal cavities to aid in understanding olfactory odorant
transport and to develop diagnostic tests and therapy for olfactory
dysfunction in humans. We are also using human models to simulate
the effect of nasal surgery on airflow before and after surgery
is performed, with the intention of developing a new numerical surgical
tool.
We are experimentally measuring heat and water loss from various
regions of the human respiratory tract. Measurements are performed
on human subjects in an environmental chamber and compared to the
predictions of a theoretical model. The study has applications in
understanding the onset of airway smooth muscle contraction as occurs
in an asthmatic attack and in the design of equipment to protect
subjects working in extreme environments.
Selected Publications
Numerical simulation of airflow in the human nasal cavity. J. Biomech
Eng. 117:429-441, 1995.
The Importance of a Source Term in Modeling Multibreath Inert Gas
Washout. Respiration Physiology 103: 99-103, 1996.
A Numerical Model of Nasal Odorant Transport for the Analysis of
Human Olfaction. J Theoretical Biol. 186: 279-301, 1997.
Cardiac Output Recovered From Single Breath CO2 Washout In Goats.
Abstract presented at annual fall meeting BMES, Cleveland, OH, Ann.
Biomed. Eng. 26 (Sup 1):Abst CR. 35, 1998.
Bioengineering
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