The optimal method for radiographic evaluation of the internal nasal valve (INV) has not been established. The objective of this study was to develop a method to assess the cross-sectional area and the angle of the INV using anatomically-accurate 3D digital nasal airway models. Axial CT images of the paranasal sinuses of twenty adult subjects with healthy nasal airways (50% female and 50% age ≥ 50) were used to create the models. Patients with significant radiographic evidence of sinonasal disease were excluded. A primary cutting plane that passed through the edge of the nasal bone, upper lateral cartilage, and the head of the inferior turbinate was defined in coronal view. This primary coronal cutting plane was then rotated in 5° increments anteriorly while ensuring the anatomic criteria for the INV were still met. The cutting plane resulting in the minimum INV area was identified as the optimal cutting plane and the total cross-sectional area of INV in this plane,198.79 ± 54.57 mm², was significantly less than the areas obtained using the existing methods for radiographic evaluation of the INV. The angle between the optimal cutting plane and nasal dorsum was 75.00 ± 10.26°, and the corresponding INV angle was 10.77 ± 6.02°.

尚未确定对鼻内瓣膜（INV）进行射线照相评估的最佳方法。这项研究的目的是开发一种使用解剖学精确的3D数字鼻道模型评估INV的横截面积和角度的方法。使用二十名具有健康鼻气道（50％的女性和50％的年龄≥50）的成年受试者的鼻旁窦的轴向CT图像创建模型。具有明显鼻窦疾病的影像学证据的患者被排除在外。在冠状视图中定义了穿过鼻骨边缘，上侧软骨和下鼻甲头部的主切平面。然后将这个主要的冠状切面向前旋转5°，同时确保仍符合INV的解剖学标准。²，大大小于使用现有的INV射线照相评估方法获得的面积。最佳切割平面与鼻背之间的角度为75.00±10.26°，相应的INV角度为10.77±6.02°。