A 3D computational model of the anterior region of the human eye was created and the Navier–Stokes equations were numerically solved during the aspiration process for a set of typical (baseline) conditions: 40 ;c;l aspirated volume and needle placement in the central anterior chamber. We also ran variations of this baseline simulation.
The main finding was that the aspirated fluid comes from a very localized region around the needle tip, so that for typical conditions, almost no aspirated fluid is withdrawn from the angle region of the anterior chamber. This is important because the AH in this angle region is protein-rich and directly interacts with the tissues that control fluid drainage from the eye. Recommendations for standardizing aspiration conditions are given.