Abstract
A device has been studied that simulates the behaviour of the airways as far as deposition is concerned. The main section consists of a sieve-plate water-column into which the aerosol is injected and rises in uniform bubbles. The deposition of aerosol particles in these bubbles closely follows, in the 0.02 to 5 µm range, the total deposition curves of the respiratory tract given by the I.C.R.P. Task Group on Lung Dynamics. Pulmonary deposition has been simulated by adding before the column a properly designed stage with a capture efficiency close to the deposition efficiency in the nasopharyngeal plus tracheobronchial regions. The whole system looks promising for health physics applications, as it allows the assessment of the aerosol fraction deposited in the pulmonary region without the need of size distribution measurements.