OBJECTIVETo analyze the different characters of nasal airflow-field between 10 patients with nasal septum deviation and 20 healthy Chinese people by the method of three-dimensional reconstruction of these people's nasal cavity and numerical simulation of the flow field in these nasal cavity models. The character of airflow-field was considered by analyzing the relationship between the structure and function of the human nose.

METHODSBased on the data obtained from the CT images, 10 patients with nasal septum deviation and 20 healthy Chinese people's nasal cavity models were reconstructed by the method of surface rendering. The flow field in these three-dimensional models was simulated with finite element method. The different characters of nasal airflow-field was analysed between two groups of people.

RESULTSThe airflow distribution in the nasal cavity model could be acquired from the simulation results of the velocity. The airflow for patients with nasal septum deviation mainly passed through the broad nasal cavity, especially in the middle part of meatus of nose. In the healthy people group, the airflow mainly passed through the main side of the nasal cavity, especially in the middle and inferior part of the meatus of nose. The pressure value at any point in the nasal cavity model could be obtained from the results of the pressure plot. In the patients with nasal septum deviation, the pressure mainly dropped in the part of the nasal septum deviation, accounting approximately 71.36% of the total pressure drop. In the group of healthy people, the pressure dropped mainly in the limen nasi, accounting approximately 58.78% of the total pressure drop. The nasal airway resistance of the patients with nasal septum deviation was larger than that in the group of healthy people.

CONCLUSIONSThe three-dimensional nasal airway can reflect the characters of the human nasal airway. It can be used to analyze the change of the aerodynamic in nasal cavity caused by the abnormal anatomy of the nose. This experiment can proof that human nose has the function of self-adaptation, it can build a foundation for the construction of the model of self-adaptation of the human nose.