O'Neill, James (2024) Analysis of Glaucoma Drainage Devices through Solid Modelling and CFD Flow Behaviour. [USQ Project]
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Abstract
Glaucoma, the world’s leading cause of irreversible blindness, is defined as a group of eye conditions that causes an uncontrolled build-up of aqueous humour within the eye. This fluid build-up, and the resulting increase of intraocular pressure, causes permanent optic nerve damage and vision loss. To combat the most advanced and aggressive cases, Glaucoma Drainage Devices (GDDs) are the most widely used treatment option. Amongst the several types of GDDs, the non-valvular implants (primarily the Baerveldt and Paul) are the most widely used across Australia. With Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), a powerful tool used throughout the engineering industry to predict the behaviour of fluid within systems, this project aims to study the differences in flow and pressure drop over several realistic tube geometries and other more experimental variations.
To achieve this, Creo Parametric was used to design the 3D CAD models for the tube geometries. Six tube variations were produced for each of the Baerveldt and Paul glaucoma implants, with the aim to reflect both the realistic surgical procedures and the novel solutions to the most common GDD failure modes. The standard tube was modelled off obtained data and acted as a baseline comparison to the other variations. The sutured tube reflected the realistic surgical procedure where a 10-0 nylon suture is used to limit initial flow rate. Furthermore, the snipped inlet tube reflects the standard surgical practice to make a small cut to the end of the drainage tube to position it within the eye. The single and double finned tubes were experimental solutions to the common issue of biofouling present within GDDs. Finally, the rounded inlet tube was another novel solution to combat the negative effects propagated by the snipped variant seen within surgery.
Using Ansys Fluent, several simulations were run over a variety of flow rates ranging from 1.6μL/min to 25μL/min for each tube variation. This data was tabulated, plotted, and compared within the report to reveal the effectiveness of each solution. The results revealed that at a normal physiological flow rate of 2.5μL/min, the standard Baerveldt tube saw a pressure drop of 3.84 Pa, compared to 143.5 Pa for the Paul. These CFD results suggest the Paul implant's high-pressure drop could enhance surgical outcomes faster, mirroring its rising popularity in Australia. The single fin design appeared to mitigate biofouling while balancing shear stress, and the double fin was found to be problematic through the potential for tube blockage. The flow plots revealed the rounded inlet tube optimised flow, showing potential over the traditional snipped inlet design.
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| Item Type: | USQ Project |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current – Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Engineering (1 Jan 2022 -) |
| Supervisors: | Goh, Steven |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical) |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Mar 2026 03:49 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Mar 2026 03:49 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Glaucoma; Glaucoma Drainage Devices (GDDs); Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/53146 |
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