Abstract
Objectives: Previously, we used a
nasal cavity model to analyze the intranasal airflow dynamics and
numerically calculate the nasal resistance value. Here, we created a
nasal sinus model that is closer to the real human body and calculated
the nasal resistance value. Moreover, we performed comparisons of the
measured and simulation data.
Setting: The models were healthy adult volunteers: a 35-year-old man
(model 1) and a 25-year-old man (model 2), who were used as nasal cavity
and paranasal sinus models. A 1.0-mm slice computed tomography (CT) was
performed and a nasal sinus model was created. We compared the nasal
resistance of the simulation value with that of the measured value
obtained using rhinomanometry.
Results: In model 1, the measured (simulation) value was 0.69 (0.48) on
the right, 1.10 (0.41) on the left, and 0.42 (0.22) on both sides. In
model 2, the measured (simulation) value was 0.72 (0.21) on the right,
0.32 (0.09) on the left, and 0.22 (0.06) on both sides.
Conclusion: We observed a
difference between the simulation and measured values, possibly because
of the length of the inferior turbinate and the cross-sectional area of
the choana and nasopharynx. Further experiments using additional nasal
cavity and paranasal sinus models are warranted.