CFD analysis of the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve and design of an alternative device.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling based on a commercial package, FLUENT, has been used in the present study. The primary aim of this study is to develop a novel implant by employing CFD techniques. Firstly, CFD analyses on the best design commercially available, which is the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve (AGV®), are accomplished. In the light of the results, the new design focus is selected as the valve. The new design is analysed using GAMBIT and FLUENT software. CFD analyses of the new design and the AGV® are compared and the strengths of the new design are revealed. The results are also compared with the experimental studies AGV® in the literature. It is deduced that the proposed model shows a nonlinear pressure drop response, which is quite similar to that of AGV®. The optimum combination would be a flow rate of 2.5 μl/min and a pressure drop of 1054.58 Pa for the proposed model.