Computer model helps design better nasal sprays

Researchers have developed computer models to design more effective nasal sprays to replace needle or pill based drug delivery.

Jiyuan Tu, from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), who is working with Kiao Inthavong, said it enabled researchers to gain better understanding of the toxicology and therapeutic effects of improved nasal spray devices.

"We are using what's called Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). We have developed sophisticated models of the real respiratory airway from medical imaging techniques (CT and MRI) that includes the oral and nasal cavity, larynx, pharynx, trachea and the upper regions of the lung airway," Tu was quoted as saying in a statement from Melbourne.

"These areas of the respiratory airway are capable of determining how and where the inhaled particles and gases will move and eventually deposit on to the respiratory walls. This new technology will significantly assist new findings in biomedical and health research," added Tu.

"For example, the models have tracked asbestos fibres as they enter the nasal cavity and eventually reach the deep lung regions causing lung complications such as mesothelioma," concluded Tu.