Lintermann, A.FZJ*

2017
RWTH Aachen

Abstract: Respiration is an essential physiological functionality of the human organism and is responsible for supplying the body with oxygen. The nasal cavity takes care of olfaction and degustation, filters fine dust from the air as well as moisturizes and tempers the air. Therefore, it is indispensable in respiration, and a degradation of only one or a few functionalities leads to discomfort or further pathologies. In the profile area Computational Science & Engineering (CompSE), human respiration is analyzed by means of highly-resolved numerical simulations that, due to the large problem sizes, can only be executed on supercomputers. Complaints in nasal respiration, the development of chronic airway diseases, a reduction of olfaction and degustation, particle deposition behavior and filtering mechanisms of the nasal cavity, air conditioning capability, and a fundamental understanding of the physics of human respiration are at the core of the research. The following article gives an overview of the methodologies employed by the group, current results, and the challenges engineers, computer scientists, and medical specialists have to face in the future to reach the goal of personalized medical treatment.

1. 511 - Computational Science and Mathematical Methods (POF3-511) (POF3-511)