VALIDATION OF ACOUSTIC RHINOMETRY BY USING THE CAVALIERI PRINCIPLE TOESTIMATE NASAL CAVITY VOLUME IN CADAVERS

The ability of acoustic rhinometry to provide valid estimates of nasal cavity volume has been tested using cadaveric heads. Values obtained for the cavities in five intact heads were compared with unbiased esti mates of the volumes of the same specimens. An unbiased estimate is on e which does not depart in a systematic manner from the true value. He re, unbiased estimates were made by applying the Cavalieri principle t o uniform random samples of 4-7 macroscopic slices per specimen. Using acoustic rhinometry, the mean volume (left and right sides combined) amounted to 31.3 ml with a co-efficient of variation of 77%. On the sa me specimens, the Cavalieri estimate of mean volume (both cavities plu s the adjacent nasopharynx) was 31.1 ml (66%). There was a significant and positive correlation between the two data sets (correlation co-ef ficient 0.97). Repeated acoustic measurements on the same cavities gav e a measuring error of about 4%. We conclude that acoustic rhinometry can provide valid and efficient estimates of the volume of the nasal c avity plus nasopharynx.