Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and related airflow modeling of the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, nose and upper airway — patient-specific simulation, virtual surgery, particle/aerosol drug deposition, sinus ventilation, heat-and-humidity transport, and airflow validation.
27 tracked publications · last updated 2026-06-10
Related: AI & Machine Learning · Navigation, AR-VR, Simulation & 3D Printing · Devices, Implants & Procedures · Endotypes, Biomarkers & Diagnostics · Skull Base Surgery & Reconstruction · Outcomes, Guidelines & Epidemiology
Publications
-
Determinants of olfactory cleft targeting in intranasal aerosol delivery: a combined computational and experimental study
Wu et al. — Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol (2026-06) · Original
Couples CFD with experiments to identify the aerodynamic factors that govern aerosol access to the olfactory cleft during natural inhalation, informing olfactory-targeted and nose-to-brain delivery.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 42249898 -
Effect of breathing pattern on nasal airflow, air conditioning, and gas clearance in a patient-specific upper airway model
Khamooshi et al. — Respir Physiol Neurobiol (2026-06) · Original
Transient CFD showing how respiratory rate and waveform shape alter nasal heat exchange, sinus ventilation, and CO₂ clearance in a patient-specific airway.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 42242520 -
Computationally guided simulation-based surgical correction of nasal airway obstruction in patients with cleft lip nasal deformity
Lin et al. — Cleft Palate Craniofac J (2026-06) · Original
Pilot study using CFD to virtually test different surgical interventions for unilateral cleft-lip-nasal-deformity airway obstruction from pre-surgery CT.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 42237863 -
Characteristics of pediatric olfactory airflow based on computational fluid dynamics analysis
Nishijima et al. — Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol (2026-05) · Original
CFD characterization of age-dependent olfactory airflow patterns and odorant transport across pediatric nasal morphology.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 42087006 -
Unique features of nasal airway and airflow improvement post-dupilumab: a computational cohort study
Odeh et al. — Laryngoscope (2026-04) · Original
Applies CFD modeling to quantify how dupilumab changes nasal airway patency and airflow patterns in CRS with nasal polyps.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41933438 -
The value of computational fluid dynamics in crooked nose
Arslan et al. — Facial Plast Surg (2026-03) · Original
Evaluates functional/aerodynamic improvement after septal-deviation and crooked-nose surgery using subjective tools plus CFD-derived airflow metrics.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41806852 -
Computational fluid dynamics analysis of the respiratory function of orthodontic patients: a scoping review
Gianoni-Capenakas et al. — BMC Med Imaging (2026-02) · Scoping review
Maps how CFD has been used to simulate upper-airway airflow changes following orthodontic and orthognathic treatments.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41723347 -
Computational fluid dynamics simulation of upper airway flow and soft tissue deformation in a mouth-breathing patient: a case study
Ji et al. — BMC Oral Health (2026-02) · Original
3D fluid–structure interaction (FSI) model comparing nasal, oronasal, and oral ventilation biomechanics in a mouth-breathing patient.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41622132 -
Understanding airflow dynamics: a computational study of nasal and oral breathers using patient-specific models
Thomas et al. — BDJ Open (2026-01) · Original
CFD comparison of airway morphology and airflow dynamics between habitual nasal and oral breathers.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41540014 -
Computational fluid dynamics and virtual septoplasty in nasal airway obstruction: a narrative review
Braithwaite et al. — Cureus (2026-01) · Review
Reviews patient-specific CFD and virtual septoplasty as tools to predict and improve variable septoplasty outcomes in nasal airway obstruction.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41531442 -
In vitro inhalation and deposition of salbutamol in upper airway geometries
Almirall et al. — Pharm Res (2026-01) · Original
Examines how physiologically consistent vs simplified airway geometries affect predicted extrathoracic aerosol deposition of inhaled salbutamol.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41507553 -
Studying nasal aerosols in microfluidics: opportunities and challenges
Gholizadeh et al. — Expert Opin Drug Deliv (2025-10) · Review
Highlights microfluidic organ-on-chip approaches, alongside CFD, for studying nasal aerosol and vaccine delivery.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41121460 -
A fluid and particle mechanics perspective of nasal drug delivery
Inthavong et al. — Expert Opin Drug Deliv (2025-10) · Review
Frames the airflow-structure and particle-transport challenges of targeted, efficient intranasal drug delivery.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41103167 -
Investigation of particle penetration in a nasal maxillary ostium with optimised T-junction geometry and pulsatile flow
Warfield-McAlpine et al. — Biomech Model Mechanobiol (2025-10) · Original
Models the maxillary ostium as a T-junction to predict how surgical geometry and pulsatile flow govern drug-particle delivery into the sinus.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41053304 -
Computational fluid dynamics approach for direct nose-to-brain drug delivery: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Vishnumurthy et al. — J Pers Med (2025-09) · Systematic review / meta-analysis
Synthesizes CFD studies on the parameters that drive olfactory-region deposition for nose-to-brain delivery, noting inconsistent findings limiting translation.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41149809 -
[Patterns of bilateral nasal airflow distribution and influencing factors in patients with obstructive sleep apnea]
Shi et al. — Chin J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg (2025-09) · Original
Analyzes the nasal cycle and bilateral airflow distribution in OSA patients versus healthy controls.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41015436 -
Skeletal and nasal airflow changes in late adolescents and young adults after RPE vs MARPE: a randomized clinical trial
Aras et al. — Angle Orthod (2025-09) · RCT
Randomized comparison of nasal patency and dentoskeletal change after rapid palatal expansion vs miniscrew-assisted rapid maxillary expansion.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41005758 -
Peak nasal inspiratory flow and the association with nasal obstruction in patients with severe CRSwNP from the SINUS-24/-52 studies
Desrosiers et al. — Adv Ther (2025-09) · RCT analysis
Establishes PNIF as an objective airflow measure of nasal obstruction in severe CRSwNP using the dupilumab SINUS-24/-52 trial data.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41014486 -
Numerical simulation and functional evaluation of upper airway before and after twin block treatment with different respiratory pathways
Chen et al. — Clin Oral Investig (2025-09) · Original
CFD evaluation of upper-airway ventilation change in retrognathic children after Twin Block therapy across breathing pathways.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 40957914 -
A boundary condition remapping technique for computational fluid dynamics simulations of nasal exhalation
Cook et al. — Comput Methods Programs Biomed (2025-08) · Methods
Introduces a boundary-condition remapping method to improve airflow-simulation accuracy in truncated airway models where the pharyngeal jet affects nasal flow.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 40886695 -
Nasal fluid dynamics visualization using particle image velocimetry in a 3D-printed nasal replica model
He et al. — IEEE EMBC (2025-07) · Original
Uses PIV in a 3D-printed nasal replica to visualize and validate airflow and particle transport against CFD predictions.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 41336181 -
Computational fluid dynamics simulations to personalize nasal irrigations
Radulesco et al. — J Pers Med (2025-07) · Original
CFD evaluation of how head position changes saline distribution through the nasal cavity and maxillary sinus to personalize irrigation technique.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 40710404 -
Numerical study of nasal hair effects on breathing comfort and particle deposition in a simplified vestibule region
Fatahi et al. — Biomech Model Mechanobiol (2025-07) · Original
Models how nasal vibrissae filter particles while adding breathing resistance in the nasal vestibule.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 40616771 -
Low tongue posture improvement effect of orofacial myofunctional therapy: nasal ventilation by computational fluid dynamics and dental arch morphology
Maeo et al. — Orthod Craniofac Res (2025-07) · Original
Quantifies pre/post myofunctional-therapy change in nasal ventilation using CFD on cone-beam CT models.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 40590470 -
Association between limited airflow in the olfactory cleft and impaired olfactory function: a systematic review
Wei et al. — Am J Rhinol Allergy (2025-07) · Systematic review
Reviews evidence linking olfactory-cleft airflow to olfactory function in healthy and dysfunctional cohorts.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 40685625 -
Increasing airflow ventilation in a nasal maxillary ostium using optimised shape and pulsating flows
Warfield-McAlpine et al. — Biomech Model Mechanobiol (2025-06) · Original
CFD optimization of ostium shape and pulsatile flow to restore maxillary-sinus ventilation, with surgical implications.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 40562978 -
Flow behavior in idealized and realistic upper airway geometries
Vara Almirall et al. — Comput Biol Med (2025-06) · Original
Compares airflow and turbulence in idealized (USP) vs realistic upper-airway models during oral inhalation for aerosol delivery.
PubMed · DOI · PMID 40523315
Indexed via PubMed (NCBI E-utilities). Every entry links to its PubMed record and DOI. Information resource only — not medical advice.