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Can We Diminish Spreading of the COVID-19 Pandemic?
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
Retired from HSPH, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
Currently Tsuda Lung Research, Shrewsbury, MA, USA
- 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- 2 Retired from HSPH, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
- 3 Currently Tsuda Lung Research, Shrewsbury, MA, USA
Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering·Volume 14 (2021)·Pages 11–13·Published 26 January 2021·DOI10.4236/jbise.2021.141002
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Abstract
We hypothesized that liquid menisci occlusions may form inside small airways, travel along the airway while losing mass and finally may disintegrate into bioaerosols. Spreading of the COVID-19 virus is strongly related to the number of such bioaerosols exhaled by “super-spreaders”. We show, employing numerical methods, that this number can be diminished by administering surfactants which lower the surface-tension of the mucus which covers the airways.
KeywordsBioaerosolsSurfactantsLung Airways
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