Using Simulation of the airflow in the human nose for rhinosurgical therapy planning

Methods of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) nowadays play an important role in the production process of the automotive industry. Progress made in recent years offers highly sophisticated airflow simulation models used in engineering for optimization and verification of aerodynamics. The key point of the Airflow Simulation Tool for Human Medical Application (ASTHMA) developed at the Darmstadt University of Technology in cooperation with the University Hospital in Greifswald is to use these techniques to support the rhinosurgeon in diagnosis and therapy planning [1]. A system is developed that realizes a 3-D reconstruction of the endonasal cavaties based on computer tomography (CT) scans. This semiautomatic reconstruction method requires minimal manual intervention. The surface model is used to create an unstructured 3-D volume mesh suitable for Finite Volume simulations. In this way an individual simulation based on patient specific data can be realized. To verify the simulation result, experimental investigations, and measurements are made in nasal models at the University Hospital in Greifswald. The goal of this project is to investigate individual nasal complains and to detect respiratory disorders. Prior to performing a surgical procedure the surgeon should be able to simulate the disordered respiration and the optimized case expected after the intervention. In this way the effectiveness of surgical planing could be increased, resulting in a better surgical outcome.