Microfluidic CFD Applications: Medical Devices

Medical Test Strips

FLOW-3D's salt dissolution model allows for medical patches to be simulated

FLOW-3D simulation of dissolving
medicine in a medical patch.

Medical test strips used for rapid diagnostics and determination of relevant biomedical parameters have undergone considerable advances in recent years. Far from the conventional strips with absorbent fleece, new precisely-fabricated microchannels, with defined geometric structures, are now possible via Microsystems engineering. Proper geometrical design of these microstructures enables selective control of the capillary-driven flows. FLOW-3D flow simulation software can be used to optimize the designs of these strips.

CFD insights into agitation stress methods in biopharmaceutical development

Salt Dissolution CFD Model in FLOW-3D

Watch the FLOW-3D Demo

Biotech Simulation Examples

CFD simulation of blood flow using FLOW-3D's flow simulation software

Figure 1: Blood flow simulation

CFD simulation of shear thinning fluid in a medical needle using FLOW-3D's flow simulation software

Figure 2: Shear thinning fluid in a
medical needle

Figure 1: Blood, a non-Newtonian fluid, can be modeled using FLOW-3D through narrow arteries and veins to determine pressure balance and flow rates should there be a blockage. CFD simulation aids in circulation improvement for placement of stents, grafting procedure to eliminate blockage, and bypass surgeries.

Figure 2: FLOW-3D is used to predict transient injection forces on a plunger and strain rate for various solutions of shear thinning medical fluid. Medical fluids contain essential components that undergo high strain through shear thinning at the syringe-needle interface. FLOW-3D can be used to model various syringe-needle geometries and fluids to analyze the strain experienced by fluid in passage through the needle as well as the force generated on the plunger for automated injections.

Modeling Nasal Passages

This CFD simulation shows the trajectory of spray particles
through the nasal cavity. Particles are colored by size, where
red indicates the largest particles and blue the smallest. The
simulation shows that the smaller the particles are, the
deeper they penetrate into the nasal cavity. The smallest
particles then exit the nasal cavity and go further into the
respiratory system.

Nasal drug delivery system, a promising non-invasive means of administrating drugs, poses numerous design challenges. If the spray particles are too large they tend to deposit in the anterior portion of the nasal cavity which reduces the effectiveness of the drug. If the particles are too small, a majority of the particles could pass directly to the lungs wasting most of the dose. For some drugs it is desirable to target a specific region of the nasal cavity like the olfactory region, which has a potential of delivering drugs directly to the brain. Designing a successful nasal drug delivery system requires optimizing various factors such as drug particle size, particle speed, spray angle, and nozzle insertion depth. Using FLOW-3D, the effects of the various design parameters on the system can be easily studied by running a series of simulations.

Read more in our Microfluidics Tech Papers