The human nose is a complex organ that shows large morphological variations and has many important functions. However, the relation between shape and function is not yet fully understood. In this work, we present a high quality statistical shape model of the human nose based on clinical CT data of 46 patients. A technique based on cylindrical parametrization was used to create a correspondence between the nasal shapes of the population. Applying principal component analysis on these corresponded nasal cavities resulted in an average nasal geometry and geometrical variations, known as principal components, present in the population with a high precision. The analysis led to 46 principal components, which account for 95% of the total geometrical variation captured. These variations are first discussed qualitatively, and the effect on the average nasal shape of the first five principal components is visualized. Hereafter, by using this statistical shape model, two application examples that lead to quantitative data are shown: nasal shape in function of age and gender, and a morphometric analysis of different anatomical regions. Shape models, as the one presented here, can help to get a better understanding of nasal shape and variation, and their relationship with demographic data.

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In this paper, we investigate the heating function of the nasal cavity qualitatively, using a highquality, large-scale statistical shape model. This model consists of a symmetrical and an asymmetrical part and provides a new and unique way of examining changes in nasal heating function resulting from natural variations in nasal shape (as obtained from 100 clinical CT scans). Data collected from patients suffering from different nasal or sinus-related complaints are included. Parameterized models allow us to investigate the effect of continuous deviations in shape from the mean nasal cavity. This approach also enables us to avoid many of the compounded effects on flow and heat exchange, which one would encounter when comparing different patient-specific models. The effects of global size, size-related features, and turbinate size are investigated using the symmetrical shape model. The asymmetrical model is used to investigate different types of septal deviation using Mladina's classification. The qualitative results are discussed and compared with findings from the existing literature.

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