Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a technique that is used increasingly in the biomedical field. Solving the flow
equations numerically provides a convenient way to assess the efficiency of therapies and devices, ranging from
cardiovascular stents and heart valves to hemodialysis workflows. Also in the respiratory field CFD has gained
increasing interest, especially through the combination of three dimensional image reconstruction which results in highend
patient-specific models. This paper provides an overview of clinical applications of CFD through image based
modeling, resulting from recent studies performed in our center. We focused on two applications: assessment of the
efficiency of inhalation medication and analysis of endobronchial valve placement. In the first application we assessed
the mode of action of a novel bronchodilator in 10 treated patients and 4 controls. We assessed the local volume increase
and resistance change based on the combination of imaging and CFD. We found a good correlation between the changes
in volume and resistance coming from the CFD results and the clinical tests. In the second application we assessed the
placement and effect of one way endobronchial valves on respiratory function in 6 patients. We found a strong patientspecific
result of the therapy where in some patients the therapy resulted in complete atelectasis of the target lobe while
in others the lobe remained inflated. We concluded from these applications that CFD can provide a better insight into
clinically relevant therapies.
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