Particle inhalation and deposition in a human nasal cavity from the external surrounding environment

Abstract CFD computations of particle flows in a human nasal cavity were conducted, using two types of inlet velocity profiles at the nostril openings respectively. One type is the widely used uniform inlet velocity profile while the other is a realistic inlet velocity profile extracted from the external environment that is influenced by facial features. The latter type of inlet velocity profiles were obtained through CFD computations of indoor gas-particle flows around a human head geometry containing detailed facial features in an enclosed space. Comparisons were made between the predicted results of airflow field, particle tracks and particle deposition efficiency in the nasal cavity. It was revealed that although the effects of facial features exist only in a small region (10–20 mm) in front of the face, they lead to complicated, and non-uniform velocity profiles at the nostril openings. This discrepancy leads to different predictions of airflow fields and local particle deposition efficiency in the nasal cavity, especially in the anterior regions such as the vestibule and nasal valve. The results may further lead to discrepant health-risk assessments associated with particle inhalation. Therefore, for CFD simulations of particle deposition in the nasal cavity, the inlet velocity profiles induced by facial features are important for more realistic results.

[1]  Seung-Kyu Chung,et al.  Digital particle image velocimetry studies of nasal airflow , 2008, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.

[2]  A W PROETZ.  Air currents in the upper respiratory tract and their clinical importance. , 1952, Transactions of the ... annual meeting of the American Laryngological Association. American Laryngological Association. Annual Meeting.

[3]  J. Wen,et al.  Comparison of micron- and nanoparticle deposition patterns in a realistic human nasal cavity , 2009, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.

[4]  Qingyan Chen,et al.  Experimental Study on Displacement and Mixing Ventilation Systems for a Patient Ward , 2009 .

[5]  Matthew R. Johnson,et al.  Experimental measurements and computational modeling of aerosol deposition in the Carleton-Civic standardized human nasal cavity , 2010 .

[6]  D. Dunn-Rankin,et al.  Experimental investigation of a two-dimensional cylindrical sampler , 1994 .

[7]  Jiyuan Tu,et al.  Numerical simulations for detailed airflow dynamics in a human nasal cavity , 2008, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.

[8]  The nasal cycle and clinical examination of the nose. , 1987, Clinical otolaryngology and allied sciences.

[9]  R. C. Schroter,et al.  Mechanics of airflow in the human nasal airways , 2008, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.

[10]  Andrew D. Maynard,et al.  A Survey of Wind Speeds in Indoor Workplaces , 1998 .

[11]  S. Kato,et al.  Study on transport characteristics of saliva droplets produced by coughing in a calm indoor environment , 2006 .

[12]  Yang Na,et al.  Unsteady flow characteristics through a human nasal airway , 2010, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.

[13]  Clement Kleinstreuer,et al.  Modeling of inertial particle transport and deposition in human nasal cavities with wall roughness , 2007 .

[14]  Christian Mühlfeld,et al.  Translocation and cellular entering mechanisms of nanoparticles in the respiratory tract. , 2008, Swiss medical weekly.

[15]  K. Khan,et al.  Spread of a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus via global airline transportation. , 2009, The New England journal of medicine.

[16]  Daniel Isabey,et al.  In Vitro Experiments and Numerical Simulations of Airflow in Realistic Nasal Airway Geometry , 2006, Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

[17]  A. Proetz,et al.  XLI Air Currents in the Upper Respiratory Tract and Their Clinical Importance , 1951 .

[18]  Zhao Zhang,et al.  Experimental and numerical investigation of airflow and contaminant transport in an airliner cabin mockup , 2009 .

[19]  W. J. Mitchell,et al.  Airflow Around a Child-Size Manikin in a Low-Speed Wind Environment , 2003 .

[20]  Patrick N. Breysse,et al.  In vivo measurements of inhalability of ultralarge aerosol particles in calm air by humans , 2006 .

[21]  Qingyan Chen,et al.  Flow and contaminant transport in an airliner cabin induced by a moving body: Model experiments and CFD predictions , 2010 .

[22]  Michelle Noga,et al.  Deposition of micrometer-sized aerosol particles in infant nasal airway replicas , 2008 .

[23]  Jiyuan Tu,et al.  Numerical study of fibre deposition in a human nasal cavity , 2008 .

[24]  Julia S. Kimbell,et al.  Particle Deposition in Human Nasal Airway Replicas Manufactured by Different Methods. Part I: Inertial Regime Particles , 2004 .

[25]  Michael R. Flynn,et al.  Computational fluid dynamics investigation of particle inhalability , 2006 .

[26]  Guilherme J M Garcia,et al.  Interindividual variability in nasal filtration as a function of nasal cavity geometry. , 2009, Journal of aerosol medicine and pulmonary drug delivery.

[27]  T Renée Anthony,et al.  Evaluation of facial features on particle inhalation. , 2005, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[28]  R A Guilmette,et al.  Characterization of nasal spray pumps and deposition pattern in a replica of the human nasal airway. , 2001, Journal of aerosol medicine : the official journal of the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine.

[29]  A. Bird.  Use of Numerical Calculations to Simulate the Sampling Efficiency Performance of a Personal Aerosol Sampler , 2005 .

[30]  Jiyuan Tu,et al.  Inhalability of micron particles through the nose and mouth , 2010, Inhalation toxicology.

[31]  M. M. Mozell,et al.  Velocity profiles measured for airflow through a large-scale model of the human nasal cavity. , 1993, Journal of applied physiology.

[32]  A. Maynard,et al.  A survey of wind speeds in indoor workplaces. , 1998, The Annals of occupational hygiene.