Fractal Physiology
William Deering and Bruce J. West
Department of Physics
University of North Texas
I
n all areas of medical research there is a
common physiological theme. Com-
plexity is the salient feature shared by
all such systems; afeature that is attracting
more and more attention in physical sys-
tems as well. Until recently, scientists
have assumed that understanding such
systems in different contexts, or even un-
derstanding various
physiological sys-
tems in the same or-
ganism, would require
completely different
models. One of the
most exciting pros-
pects f o r t h e new
scaling addressed
herein is that it may
well provide a unify-
ing theme to many
investigations,
which up until now
have been con-
sidered unrelated.
The swirling spiral
of the cochlea and the
finely branched struc-
ture of the bronchial
tree suggest the com-
plex interrelations
among biological
development, form,
and f u n c t i o n . R e -
lationships that de-
pend on scale can
have profound im-
ysiology. Consider, for ex-
the standard problems in
increases as the cube of a
0739-51 75/92/$3.0001992
40 IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
I
typical length, but surface area increases
only as the square. Accordingly, if one
species is twice the size of another, it is
likely to be eight times heavier, but have
only four times the surface area. Thus, the
larger plants and animals must com-
pensate for their bulk; respiration depends
on surface area for the exchange of gases,
as does cooling by evaporation from the
skin, and nutrition by absorption through
membranes. One way to add surface to a
given volume is to make the exterior more
irregular, as with branches and leaves;
another way is to hollow out the interior.
The human lung, with about 300 million
alveoli, approaches the more favorable
ratio of surface to volume enjoyed by our
evolutional ancestors, the single-celled
microbes.
The classical scaling concepts in biol-
ogy, while of great importance, are not
capable of accounting for the irregular
surfaces and structures seen in hearts,
lungs, intestines and brains. Experiments
suggest that biological processes are not
continuous, homogeneous, and regular,
but rather are discontinuous, inhomoge-
neous, and irregular. Thus, a new way of
analyzing such processes is required. This
new perspective is that of fractal geometry
and fractal statistics. Herein, we briefly
review how these approaches have
enabled scientists to peer behind the veil
obscuring our understanding of a number
of physiological processes.
M
athematical Fractals
A basic theme in science is that of
the invariance or symmetry of laws
June 1492
with respect to various types of
transformations that may be performed in
ordinary space and time, or even in certain
abstract mathematical spaces. I n
dynamics, there are the familiar sym-
metries in space and time which lead to
conservation laws. For example, transla-
tional invariance implies conservation of
linear momentum, whereas invariance
with respect to rotation implies conserva-
tion of angular momentum. Using the
known symmetries of a given system
provides a framework to which the details
of structure and motion must conform. In
some cases, it is
not known initial-
ly just what sym-
metry a system
possesses bkcause
of lack of fun- New scaling
damental infor-
mation about
interactions
methods may
a m o n g t h e ele-
ments of the sys-
provide a
tem. However, a
time-honored unifying theme
strategy for con-
structing the equa- to various
tions of motion for
a complex system
is t o a s s u m e a
investigations
symmetry proper-
ty, and then deter-
heretofore
mine the forces
required to main-
considered
tain this symmetry
over time. unrelated
This approach is
the variational
principle, and it
has been applied
to such quantities as the system’s entropy,
mass, and energy. This strategy for deter-
mining the dynamic properties of a system
has been very useful in bioengineering,
where concepts such as efficiency have
been introduced. A biosystem can be as-
sumed to operate so as to maximize its
efficiency. The equations that produce
this effect are sought through a variational
principle.
In other areas, where it might at first
seem that symmetry is of little use, it tums
out that there is often an unnoticed sym-
metry framework present that determines
system behavior. As an example, the mo-
tions of the individual molecules in an
equilibrium gas in the lungs are random,
and symmetry seems to be the last thing
one would think about to describe the gas
exchange process. Considered another
way, however, equivalent randomness oc-
curs everywhere in the gas, so there is a
statistical symmetry with respect to spa-
tial translation. The entire gas can be
generated by taking a small element of
volume, one that contains many particles
June 1992
with an equilibrium distribution of veloc-
ities characterized by a constant tempera-
ture, and copying it in all directions
throughout the given volume. In this way,
a disorganized system may be self-similar
under scale changes and can be thought of
as being formed by repetitious translations
of a generating element. The idea of form-
ing a large set of points from a smaller
generating set is used below to provide
one definition of dimension for sets of
points.
In the 1960s, Benoit Mandelbrot began
discussing a new geometry of nature [I],
one that embraces
the irregular
shapes of objects
such as coastlines,
lightning bolts,
cloud surfaces,
and molecular
trajectories. It was
soon realized that
these geometrical
ideas could be ap-
plied in other areas,
including non-
traditional ones [2],
from outside the
physical sciences.
A common feature
of these objects.
which Mandelbrot
called ,fi-actuls, is
that their boun-
daries are so ir-
regular that it is
not easy to under-
stand how to apply
s i m p l e metrical
ideas and opera-
tions to them.
Such fundamental concepts as dimension
and length measurement must be general-
ized. Therefore, let us consider some of
the metric peculiarities of a few unusual
mathematical objects, which we sub-
sequently use to describe some biomedi-
cal systems.
The physical phenomena mentioned
above seem to be without symmetry over
many orders of magnitude. However, that
in itself is found to be the symmetry of
self-similarity, just as in the case of the gas
in equilibrium discussed above. That is,
these phenomena are self-similar under
scaling transformations. Mathematically,
s c a l i n g transformations are multi-
plicative, as compared to the translational
transformations mentioned above, which
are additive. A system that is invariant
under time translation means that its
properties at time t are unchanged under
the replacement t + t + z, with z being any
time interval. The multiplicative linear
scaling transformationof the form x’ = a x ,
changes the original distances through
multiplication by the constant, a . This
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transformation expands or contracts the
observed scales in the same way at each
point.
A more general scaling transformation
is x’= axP, with a and B both being con-
stants, so that different values of x, e.g.,
locations in space, are weighted differ-
ently. Large x is affected more than small
x for I3 > I , and vice versa for I3 < 1. This
latter type of scaling was used by D’Arcy
Thompson [3] in scaling anatomical struc-
tures. It appears quite often in the form of
allometric growth laws in botany, as well
as in biology. This particular kind of scal-
ing has been successfully used in biology
for over a century. However, the sig-
nificance of the existence of such al-
lometric growth laws have not always
been properly appreciated. This scaling
often refers to a process that has “infinite”
levels of substructure that repeat in an ever
decreasing cascade to even smaller scales,
over which one averages to obtain the
allometric growth law. Processes such as
these are often described by functions that
are continuous but not differentiable.
In the late 18OOs,most mathematicians
felt that a continuous function must have
a derivative “almost everywhere,” which
means the derivative is singular only on a
set of points whose total length or measure
vanishes. However, some mathematicians
wondered if functions existed that were
continuous but did not have a derivative
at any point (continuous everywhere but
differentiable nowhere). It is interesting to
note that mathematicians at the time were
reluctant to consider such unusual func-
tions as being worthy of serious research
attention. Similarly, there is some resis-
tance today to the shifting emphasis that
has occurred in research, and is just begin-
ning in the classroom, with regard to plac-
ing general nonlinear analysis in the
curriculum.
The motivation for considering such
pathological functions was initiated with-
in mathematics and not in the physical or
biological sciences [4]. After all, what
possible use can there be for a function
that is so jagged that it has no tangents at
all? In 1872, Karl Weierstrass (1815-
1897) gave a lecture to the Berlin Acad-
emy in which he presented functions that
had the aforementioned continuity and
differentiation properties [ 5 ] .Thus, these
functions had the symmetry of self-simi-
larity. Twenty-six years later, Ludwig
Boltzmann, who elucidated the micro-
scopic basis of entropy, said that physi-
cists could have invented such functions
in order to treat such things as collisions
among molecules in gases and fluids.
Boltzmann had a great deal of experience
thinking about such things as dis-
continuous changes of particle velocities
that occur in kinetic theory. He had spent
many years in trying to develop a micro-
41

- __
1. Construction of the Cantor set by removing the middle third from each line
segment between successive generations, z.
scopic theory of gases. He was successful,
only to have his colleagues reject his
theory. Although it led to acceptable
results (and provided a suitable micro-
scopic definition of entropy), it really
shouldn’t have, because it was based on
time-reversible equations; that is, entropy
distinguishes the past from the future. It
was assumed in the kinetic theory of gases
that molecules were unchanged as a result
of interactions with other molecules, and
collisions were instantaneous events as
would occur if the molecules were im-
penetrable and perfectly elastic. As a
result, it seemed quite natural that the
trajectories of molecules would som-
etimes undergo discontinuous changes.
Robert Brown, in 1827, had observed the
random motion of a speck of pollen im-
mersed in a water droplet. Discontinuous
changes of motion were indicated, but the
mechanism causing these changes was not
understood. Albert Einstein published a
paper in 1905 that explained the source of
Brownian motion as due to random col-
lisions of the pollen mote with the lighter
particles of the medium. Jean Baptiste
Perrin, of the University of Paris, later
experimentally verified Einstein’s result
and received the Nobel Prize for his work
in 1926. Perrin, giving a physicist’s view
of mathematics in 1906, carefully said that
curves without tangents are more com-
mon than those special, but interesting
ones, like the circle, that have tangents.
Thus, there are valid physical reasons for
looking for these types of functions, but
the scientific reasons appeared only long
after the mathematical discovery by
Weierstrass.
Soon after the Weierstrass function ap-
peared, Georg Cantor ( I 845- 19 18) con-
structed a set of points that provided
another surprising result for mathemati-
cians [6]. Cantor provided the example of
a proper subset of the unit interval { 0,l } ,
which contained an uncountable number
of points (as did the entire unit interval),
and which also had zero measure (the
entire interval had a length of unity).
42
~~ --’
The initial stage (z = 0) of the Cantor set
(Fig. 1) is a line segment of unit length.
The next stage (z = 1 ) is obtained by
discarding the middle third of the line,
leaving the two intervals (0, 1/31 and
(2/3, 1 I.The z = 2 stage is obtained by
removing the middle third of each of the
two intervals, leaving the four intervals
(0, 1/91, {2/9, 1/31. {2/3, 7/91> {8/9. 1 I
as shown for the z = 2 stage. Repeating
this process (z -+ m) eventually produces
the Cantor set, called “Cantor dust” [7].
consisting of an uncountably infinite
number of points that are separated from
one another. That ia. in every neighbor-
hood of one of the Cantor points, no matter
how small, there are points that do not
belong to the Cantor set. So, the set is not
continuous, even though it has the same
number of points as the entire continuous
interval { 0.1 1. In fact, the Cantor set is so
full of holes that its measure is zero and
z=o
z-2
~~
2. Construction of the Koch snowflake curve by increasing the length of each side by
a factor of 4/3 between successive generations, z.
IEEE ENGINEERING I N MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
I II
the deleted set of points has a measure of
unity, just as does the original interval
{0,1 1.
The elements of the Cantor set are effec-
tively self-similar; note that any stage in
the process can be obtained from taking
only the left half of the next stage and
multiplying by three. That is, the entire set
can be obtained by appropriately rescaling
any portion of the set. If the mathe-
maticians were surprised at the existence
of such a set, imagine the shock ex-
perienced by scientists in the last two
decades as they discovered phenomena
described by these abstract mathematical
objects.
Another example of mathematical
pathology is the snowflake curve [SI first
constructed by Helge Von Koch (1906).
This closed plane curve has an infinite
length but encloses a finite area.
Starting with an equilateral triangle (the
generator) in Fig. 2. the second stage is
generated by replacing the middle third of
each line in the generator by the generator.
Continuing this process results in a curve
that, in the limit, is infinitely long and
continuous but without tangents
anywhere. The curve is self-similar and
has a topological dimension of unity,
since it is topologically equivalent to a
circle. The circumference of the figure at
the nth generation is (4/3)”, which di-
verges as n approaches infinity.
Many prominent mathematicians sought
to avoid these functions, while recogniz-
ing theirexistence. PoincarC (1854-1912),
who contributed to all areas of mathe-
matics, and laid the basis of much of what
we today call chaos theory and nonlinear
/
2.3
,
June 1992
 I

dynamics, referred to these functions as a InN (2) Another way to see this uses the dimen-
[I =
sionality of the set by writing the length of
~~

“gallery of monsters.” Hermite ( 1 822- In ( I / q )

1901) was of similar mind and tried to the z-th generation in terms of q = 1/3’,
convince Lebesgue ( 1 875- 1941),inventor This definition is intended to apply in the instead of z. Then:
of the modem theory of integration, not to limit as q 3 0. Because in that limit. N
publish in this area. has to increase to
We can immedi- infinity, the ratio
ately find applica- in Eq. 2 remains and, with N(q) = $ from Eq. 1:
tion of these ideas finite. It is clear
in physiology. In that Eq.. 2 general-
-
Fig. 3 is a mathe- ly gives a nonin-
maticians version
of the mammalian
Fractal geometry tegervalue forthe
dimension of a
which vanishes as q 4 0 because ( 1 - d)
> 0. This expression for L shows the ex-
lung, i.e., a branch- 5 elf - 5 im 11ar ob- plicit dependence of the length of the
ing structure that
attempts to put end
and statistics JXt
For the Cantor
curve on the size of the measuring ruler
(q) that is used, which is a property of
points in the neigh- offer a viable \et, the zth generd- self-similar objects. In this case, the length
borhood of every tion has N = 2‘ line vanishes as the ruler length vanishes, but
point in space. In
this way, the one
way to analyze segments, each as the next example shows, this is not the
having length q = general situation.
dimensional line 3- I , so that using For the snowflake curve, starting with a
“fills” the two discontinuous, Eq. 2 we obtain the line of unit length, the generator is the set
dimensional area
in an optimal way
inhomogeneous similarity dimen-
sion d = In 2/ln 3 =
of 4 line segments, each of length 1/3.
Thus, N = 4‘ and the ruler length after z
in order to perform 0.6309. Thus, this generations is q = 1/3‘, giving the dimen-
the gas exchange
function for which
processes dimension clas- sion d = In 4/ln 3 = 1.2618. Now, using
sifies the set as Eq. 5 yields lim L(q) = 00, as r\ 4 0,
this ‘‘lung’’ is de- being between a because d > 1 .
signed. A more line (d = 1) and a
realistic version of

N
point (d = 0): it is atural Fractals
the fractal lung is “fractal dust.” A fractal property can be spatial, as
given in Fig. 4, The total length, in the fixed geometry of the mathe-
where the “dimen- L(z), of the set matical examples above; it can be tem-
sion” of the struc- after z generations is 213 of the length L(z poral, as in a series of data taken from a
ture corresponds to that measured from - 1 ) of the previous generation. so that system over an interval of time; and it can
casts of mammalian lungs. be exact or statistical. Forexample, in Fig.
5. we depict the time series for the beat-
imensionalities of Sets of Points to-beat interval of normal sinus rhythm of
he similarity dimension of a set of a mammalian heart. Regions of the time
points may be defined for self-similar This equation has the solution L(z) = series are magnified (Fig. 5a) to em-
sets. Such sets can be covered by trans- (2/3)‘L(O), and as z -+ the length of the
00, phasize the suggested “self-similarity” of
lating a generating element throughout the Cantor set exponentially goes to zero. the fluctuations of the data. This property
set, which is the basic idea in making a
measurement of the length of a continuous
object with a ruler. Consider a straight line
segment. Dividing the segment into N
self-similar pieces by applying a ruler of
length q , the length of the interval is then
L(q) = Nq. If L = 1, then the ruler must
have length q = l/N to exactly cover the
line.
Similarly, an area L2 can Ipe covered by
N elements, each of area I, so that L’ =
Nq2, and q = I/”’* for L = 1 . In three
dimensions, a unit cube is covered by q =
l/N1’3elementary cubes. Generalizing, a
d-dimensional object is covered by N self-
similar objects, with

The equation can be used to define the

dimension, d, of a set in terms of the
number N of elementary covering ele-
ments (of length, area, volume, etc.),
which are constructed from basic intervals ~~ ~~~ ~ _ _ ~
of length q. Solving for d gives: 3. Schematic model of the mammalian lung [7].

June 1992 IEEE ENGINEERING I N MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 43

I I I

4. Computer simulation of a fractal lung, in which the boundary conditions
influence morphogenesis. The boundary was derived from a chest radiograph. The
model data are in good agreement with actual structural data [9].
is more clearly revealed in the inverse
power law spectrum for this time series
(Fig. 5b).
As is usual in the application of mathe-
matical models to nature, natural fractals
are more restricted than mathematical
ones. The ideal elements (infinite lines,
smooth planes, etc.) of Euclidean geome-
try are never realized in nature, and neither
are the ideal elements of fractal geometry,
although the latter is closer to nature than
the former. The definitions of the dimen-
sion of the mathematical fractals given
previously require that the size of the
elementary covering element vanish.
These definitions of similarity dimensions
are examples of a general dimension
defined by Hausdorff, which is now en-
compassed by the term fractal dimension
[lo], applicable even to sets that may not
be self-similar over all ranges of space or
time. Independence of scale for properties
of systems containing mass is limited to
finite spatial and/or temporal intervals.
For example, molecular diameters and
typical periods of molecular motions may
set lower limits to self-similarity, al-
though those may be extreme restrictions
in aparticular situation. However, it is still
possible and useful to apply the general
idea to a natural system and define its
fractal dimension. Knowing that the frac-
tal dimension of an object or process is
closer to unity than it is to two, for ex-
ample, indicates a system or process is
closer to being a smooth curve, with
respect to some set of variables, than it is
to being a smooth plane.
The dimension of a naturally occurring
fractal is a quantitative measure of a
qualitative property of a structure that is
self-similar over some region of space or
interval of time. There may be more than
one region of self-similarity, depending
44
on the parameters of the system. A finger
of frost on a window pane is a crystalline
solid that has a fractal dimension less than
2, but greater than 1. This dimension is a
consequence of the process being con-
strained to unfold within a two-dimen-
sional space; if the process had unfolded
in free space, the result would be falling
snow, with a fractal dimension greater
than 2, but less than 3.
To investigate the fractal structure
experimentally, it is necessary to be able
to relate the results of observations to frac-
tal measures, such as dimension. One use-
ful dimension for this purpose is the
cluster ,fractal dinletision, D, which is a
measure of how completely a cluster of
objects fills the region where it resides, as
for example a collection of small spherical
balls in a spherical volume. The parameter
D may be defined for a physical object
with a lower length limit, q. If a system is
composed of spherical physical objects of
radius q, then the number of objects
placed side by side that are required to
cover a distance, R, is R/2q. If, for ex-
ample, the smallest sphere in the cluster of
objects has radius Ro, the number of par-
ticles in the cluster is:
in analogy to Eq I . The equation above
defines the clirster diniension, D. If we
assign the same mass to all the spherical
objects in the cluster, o can be considered
to be the mass density and N the total
mass. The parameter D may then also be
called the mass dimension.
The nonlinear dynamical processes that
can produce fractals are currently the sub-
ject of much research, but they are not
understood in many cases. However, there
have been recent, successful computer
IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
simulations of the growth of dendritic
structures [ 11, 121, in which the structures
are “grown” by allowing particles to start
a large distance away from a target or seed
cluster of particles, and diffuse (random-
walk) toward the seed cluster. Such
processes are referred to as diffusion-
limited aggregation (DLA), and the math-
ematical models rely on the assumed
diffusive character of the random motion.
In steady state, the diffusion equation for
the particle number density, p, becomes
Laplace’s equation V2p = 0. This equation
is solved numerically on a grid, with the
solutions forced to satisfy certain bound-
ary conditions. (Solutions of Laplace’s
equation can have neither maxima nor
minima in a region in which the equation
holds. A field that satisfies the equation in
a region has no sources, and therefore no
“lumpiness” in the region. It is interesting
that such a condition of smoothness is
used as part of the mathematical model
that generates irregular forms). The ag-
gregation of particles at the seed causes
changes in the boundaries and results in
complicated applied mathematics
problems.
An effective radial density for such
clusters can be defined by writing Eq. 6
for an arbitrary r < R and dividing by the
B
Euclidean volume a r , where the positive
integer, E, is the ordinary dimension num-
ber of the underlying Euclidean space.
The resulting density:
shows that, because D < E, the fractal
density decreases with distance from the
origin. The cluster dimension refers to an
average density or mass distribution, but
it does not carry information about the
shape of the cluster.
Observations of DLA-type patterns have
been reported for many phenomena in-
cluding dielectric breakdown, metallic
colloid clustering, growth of metal leaves
on a two-dimensional surface, and viscous
fingering in porous media. The scattering
of light, x-rays, and neutrons has been
used to determine the fractal dimensions
of clusters by employing the usual method
of generalizing scattering expressions in
Euclidean spaces to fractional dimen-
sional spaces. Therefore, we expect the
scattered intensity, I(k) to obey a power-
law equation I(k) - k-b, where k is the
spatial frequency (reciprocal of the
wavelength) that lies in the range l/R <<
k << l/q, where R is the scale of the entire
cluster, and q is the scale of the individual
particle. This scaling means the
wavelength of the radiation is very large
compared to the particle diameters, and
very small compared to the entire cluster.
For silica particles, it is found that D = 2. I ,
while light scattering from IgG-type
June 1992
immunoglobulins [14], which form positive number. The fractal dimension acteristic time-scale for a normally beat-
clusters when heated, gives D = 2.56. for a random fractal process with such a ing heart. A similar result in terms of
spectrum is d = 2/(a-l), for 1 < a 1 3 . The space-frequency (inverse wavelength) is

P
ower laws, Noise and
Fractal Time Signals
The power law relating intensity of
scattered radiation to spatial frequency
mentioned above, reminds us of the
numerous power law relations in science
that have the self-similarity property. For
example, the inverse-square force, which
is fundamental in gravitation and in
electricity and magnetism, has no intrinsic
scale: it has the same form at all scales
under a linear scaling transformation.
For any type of field (sound, electromag-
inverse power-law spectrum is often a
manifestation of the fractal or scale-in-
variant nature of the underlying process.
Measuring heart rate by listening or by
feeling, would lead one to describe the
normal heart rate as periodic or regular.
This description implies a power spectrum
that consists of sharp peaks at isolated
frequencies, rather than the broad
spectrum indicated by the data of Fig. 5 .
The real data suggest that there is no char-
~ ~
found for the static spatial structure of the
mammalian lung [ 161, which indicates a
lack of characteristic length. The lack of
regular motion of the heart upsets the con-
ventional view of normalcy of the motion
of that system. That view, one of homeos-
tasis [ 171, holds that normal physiological
systems strive to maintain constancy in
their intemal function, and therefore at-
tempt to reduce fluctuations in their vari-
ables. If perturbed, such systems would
. ~ _ _ _ ~ .

netic, etc.), noise is the part of a signal due

to random influences; for example, the
distortion of a radio program due to static, A. NORMAL SINUS RHYTHM TIME SERIES
or the erratic displacements due to random
collisions of a Brownian particle. In the
description of a dynamic process, the
various time scales (frequencies) con-
tributing to the process make up a charac-
teristic spectrum. This spectrum shows
how the energy of the process is dis-
tributed over different kinds of motions.
For example, a simple harmonic oscillator
has a spectrum that consists of a single
frequency. The spectrum associates an
amplitude with that frequency, which is
the square of the maximum displacement
(proportional to the energy) of the oscil-
lator. If our system is made more compli-
cated by adding more interacting particles
and extemal influences, the spectrum of
the motions broadens to include nonzero
amplitudes at different frequencies. Quite
often, the only information available 0.5L
about a complex dynamical system is a
measured time series; e.g., the concentra-
tion of a particular chemical species in an B. NORMAL SINUS RHYRHM:
ongoing chemical reaction, or the dis- INVERSE POWER-LAW SPECTRUM
placement of the plucked string of a musi- 106, I I I
cal instrument over time, the velocity of
the wind at the airport weather station, and
so on. This time series can be used to
construct a power spectrum that can, in
some cases, be used to determine the
properties of the system generating the
time series. This type of reasoning is often
what a physician does when interpreting
an electrocardiogram.
An uncorrelated random time series, in
contrast to the harmonic oscillator, has a
power spectrum that has a constant energy
level at all frequencies. This is white
noise. It is called white because all fre-
quencies contribute equally as they do in FREBUENCY [HA
white light; it is called noise because the
frequency components are random, one I ___~ ~~ __ ~ ~ _ _ _ _ ~ -
with respect to another. 5. Normal sinus rhythm (data from a healthy, active, 61-year-old woman) is not
A fractal random time series is quite regular, but rather shows apparently erratic fluctuations across multiple time scales
different. There is no characteristic scale (a). Power spectrum of this typical heart rate time series shows broad band of
for a fractal process, and its frequencies frequencies with inverse power-law scaling, consistent with a fractal process (b) [15].
make up what is known as an inverse Note that normal subjects at rest will show a superimposed frequency peak at about
power-law spectrum, given by the term 0.2 Hz, corresponding to the respiratory rate; however, a broadband l/f-like
IIP, where f is a frequency, and a is a spectrum as shown here is observed even at bed-rest in normal subjects.

June 1992 IEEE ENGINEERING I N MEDICINEAND BIOLOGY 45

try to retum as soon as possible to the
unperturbed state. The broad spectrum of
the time series of Fig. 5 clearly does not
support the homeostatic model, which re-
quires sharp isolated peaks representing
stable rates. The question of why such lack
of regularity is a common feature in
biological systems has been addressed
[18], and shows that statistical fractals
provide a mechanism for the structural
basis of complex structures, which are
more stable than those generated by clas-
sical scaling. Classical scaling may be
illustrated in terms of the mammalian
lung. Assuming that the diameter of an
airway scales as d(z) = qd(z - 1) between
successive generations [ 191, where q is a
constant, then the diameter at the z-th
generation in terms of that at z = 0, is the
exponential relation d(z) = d(O)exp(-rz),
where r = In(l/q) introduces a length
scale.
The first ten generations of the human
lung approximately satisfy the exponen-
tial relation, but thereafter there is a
marked deviation from this form. When
carefully analyzed [20], it is found that the
data can be approximated by an inverse
power law in z, with a superimposed har-
monic variation (Fig. 6) [21]. The power
law dependence implies there is no length
scale, which eliminates the exponential
relation above. To account for the ob-
served properties, it was assumed that at
each generation of the bronchial tree, there
is present a multiplicity of scales
described by the distribution function,
p(T). If a scaling relation is expressed in
terms of the average of r, an expression
for the average diameter of the airways
0 1
tog generation [log zl
6. Plotted data of Weibel and Gomez [19], for dogs, rats and hamsters, on a log-log
graph, indicates the average bronchial diameters follow inverse power-law, not
exponential, scaling. In addition, there appears to be a harmonic (periodic) variation
of the data ooints about the Dower-law regression line 1211.
0 --
46
can be derived that closely fit all essential
features of the data 1201. Once again,
fractal geometry shows its superiority
in t h e d e s c r i p t i o n s o f s i g n i f i c a n t
problems that are unsubmissive t o
Euclidean geometry.
In the last two decades, we have seen the
emergence of a new descriptive scheme
that can be used successfully to deal with
many of the problems of the geometry of
the natural world. The widespread ap-
plicability of fractals makes it a tool for all
science and other fields as well. It is clear
that the further application of fractals and
their underlying nonlinear dynamics,
together with high speed computation,
will continue to bring together biomedi-
cal, physical and mathematical sciences
for work on problems that were formerly
thought to be outside some of the artifi-
cially set ranges in each field [ 2 2 ] .
physics from the
University of Rochester in 1969. His cur-
rent research interests lie in nonequi-
librium statistical mechanics, descriptions
of complex systems, quantum manifesta-
tions of chaos, and the applications of
nonlinear dynamics systems theory to
biomedical phenomena.
2 3
IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY
1 II
William Deer-ing is As-
sociate Professor and
Vice Chairman of the
Department of Physics
at the University of
N o r t h T e x a s . He
r e c e i v e d a B . A . in
physics from T e x a s
Christian University in
1956, a master’s in 1960, and a Ph.D. in
physics in 1964 from New Mexico State
University. I n addition to directing
graduate programs in the department, he
conducts research in semiconductor
physics, nonlinear processes in classical
and quantum systems, and statistical
physics.Address for correspondence: PO
Box 5368, Denton, TX 76203
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June 1991