Stereoscopic PIV measurements of flow in the nasal cavity with high flow therapy

Knowledge of the airflow characteristics within the nasal cavity with nasal high flow (NHF) therapy and during unassisted breathing is essential to understand the treatment’s efficacy. The distribution and velocity of the airflow in the nasal cavity with and without NHF cannula flow has been investigated using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry at steady peak expiration and inspiration. In vivo breathing flows were measured and dimensionally scaled to reproduce physiological conditions in vitro. A scaled model of the complete nasal cavity was constructed in transparent silicone and airflow simulated with an aqueous glycerine solution. NHF modifies nasal cavity flow patterns significantly, altering the proportion of inspiration and expiration through each passageway and producing jets with in vivo velocities up to 17.0 ms⁻¹ for 30 l/min cannula flow. Velocity magnitudes differed appreciably between the left and right sides of the nasal cavity. The importance of using a three-component measurement technique when investigating nasal flows has been highlighted.