Investigation of the role of head morphology on odor detection using computational modeling
Abstract
Though canine olfaction has become prevalent as a detection tool throughout many disciplines,with military, homeland security, law enforcement, forensic, and civilian applications, much lessis known about the function of the detector compared to its instrumental counterparts. Althoughit can be argued that the structure of the nasal cavity and it is the relation to odorant transport thatactually gives canines their superior olfactory sensitivity, many aspects of odorant transport inthe canine nasal cavity remain unexplored. In the proposed work, we will create a simplifiedmodel of the canine nasal cavity in order to simulate flow and odor transport to olfactorystructures. To create this model, we will characterize the morphology of the nasal cavity usingCT scans from individual animals in a variety of dog breeds analyzed with geometricmorphometrics and principal component analysis to reduce the complexity of the overallstructure. Second, we will computationally model fluid flow and odor capture and analyze thismodel using uncertainty quantification techniques. The model will allow us to better understandwhat aspects of morphology and sniffing kinematics control odor deposition and form testablehypotheses. Finally, we will test hypotheses generated from the model using experimental odordetection limit testing in a collaboration with Florida International University.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 05, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112347
Entities
People
- Lindsay Waldrop
Organizations
- Chapman University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy