The Alberta Idealized Throat geometry
Because aerosols must traverse the mouth-throat region before entering the lungs, it is important to be able to mimic aerosol deposition and flow in the human mouth-throat when studying inhaled aerosols. However, there is tremendous variability in the shape and geometry of the human mouth-throat between different individuals. For this reason, the Alberta Idealized Throat (AIT) geometry, one half of which is shown in Figure 1, was developed at the Aerosol Research Laboratory of Alberta. Despite its relative simplicity compared to actual human mouth-throats, the Alberta geometry has been shown to do a remarkable job of mimicking the aerosol and flow motion in the human mouth-throat. For this reason, it has been adopted worldwide by researchers examining and testing aerosols inhaled orally and is available for purchase from Copley Scientific Limited. We have also developed a version of the AIT for children, also available from Copley, and for infants.