Ingenieurbüro für angewandte Strömungsmechanik

CFD for Biomedical applications

In-silico investigations of blood flow or drug delivery offer a much better understanding of physical phenomena taking place. Simulations offer much more flexibility investigating alternative methods or optimising apparatuses.

Biomedical applications are usually interdisciplinary problems involving different phenomena like the interaction of moving or deforming walls with the flow field and biochemical reactions. Also labs on chip involving microfluidics can be optimised using simulation techniques (more on micro-fluidics).

Poster on CFD for biomedical applications.

DECHEMA-Jahrestagung der Biotechnologen, Garching, 02-04.04.03

Inhalators

When investigating and optimising drug delivery via inhalores the process can be subdivided into the following steps:

1- Atomization
2- Particle transport in the inhaler and spacer
3- Transport in upper part of respiratory system
4- Transport in deep lung

Steps 2 and 3 can be readily investigated using standard CFD techniques. Steps 1 and 4 require special models to describe the atomization and drug delivery in the lung.

The second figure shows an Oro-pharyngeal CT scan and the calculated flow conditions during breath intake.

Strömung in einem Inhalator und im oberen Bereich der Atemwege