# Endoscopic nasal sinus surgery simulator to optimize treatment outcome

> **NIH NIH R21** · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $196,893

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Millions of endoscopic nasal sinus surgeries are performed annually worldwide, yet the outcomes are
often variable. One reason is that predicting functional outcomes (e.g. nasal airflow) based solely on CT or
endoscopy can be difficult. The lack of an objective planning system results in ineffective disease management.
 For this proposal, a unique multidisciplinary team of clinicians, computer scientists, and engineers was
assembled to develop a virtual endoscopic sinus surgery simulator that would simulate patient anatomy, reveal
flow obstructions, and ultimately facilitate optimization of the outcome of surgical approaches for treatment of
nasal obstruction and conductive olfactory loss. Using virtual reality, the surgeon can remove obstructive tissue
virtually through a haptic (tactile and kinesthetic) feedback device. After each virtual surgery, changes in nasal
airflow can be computed and displayed and the process reiterated until an optimal result is reached. A trial
using this approach was performed on four patients as a proof of concept, and a normative range of air/odor
flow based on 22 healthy controls was established.
 We will continue to improve the overall fidelity of our system (Aim 1) by incorporating feedback from
clinicians and iterative innovation employing recent advances in computer science (image processing, volume
visualization, haptic modeling, interface design). We will also perform non-interventional trials on 20 patients
and focus on nasal obstruction related olfactory loss (Aim 2) and test the hypothesis that the virtual sinus
surgery simulator can improve treatment outcomes to conductive olfactory loss. While this proposal is limited to
the specific symptom of obstruction-related olfactory loss, but in the future the tool can be expanded to improve
outcomes for more generalized nasal obstruction symptoms.
 Ultimately, developing and validating such a virtual surgical planning system will prove invaluable for
future surgical treatment of nasal obstruction and has the potential to directly improve clinical practice and offer
personalized medicine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9884609
- **Project number:** 5R21DC017530-02
- **Recipient organization:** OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KAI ZHAO
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $196,893
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-03-05 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9884609

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9884609, Endoscopic nasal sinus surgery simulator to optimize treatment outcome (5R21DC017530-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9884609. Licensed CC0.

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