Toward a three-dimensional finite-element model of the human inner ear angular accelerometers sensors

Pierre Selva (1) , Joseph Morlier (1) , Yves Gourinat (1)

1 ICA - Institut Clément Ader

The vestibular section of the inner ear is partly comprised of three semicircular canals that detect head angular acceleration. This system is filled with a Newtonian fluid and its functioning pertains on fluid-structure interactions. The aim of the present paper is first to present a two-dimensional model of a single semicircular canal using fluid-structural finiteelements simulations. Second, this two-dimensional model is extended to 3-D space and to the case where the entire set of canals is considered. To achieve this goal, we first develop a two dimensional finite-elements model of a single canal. Using a strong coupling between the fluid flow and the structural displacements and also an Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) approach for the moving mesh, we analyze displacements of the cupulae and fluid velocity during head rotation. Second, this 2-D model is extended to a three-dimensional case by considering the entire set of canals. Preliminary results showing cupula deformation as well as fluid flow highlight a good correlation with the 2-D model.

Mots clés: Finite-element model; Fluid structure interaction; Inner ear; Semicircular canals

Domaines: Mécanique des structures [physics.class-ph]

Pierre Selva, Joseph Morlier, Yves Gourinat. Toward a three-dimensional finite-element model of the human inner ear angular accelerometers sensors. International Journal for Computational Vision and Biomechanics (IJCV & B), 2010, 3 (2), pp.149-156. ⟨hal-01852241⟩