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This is our most comprehensive simulation program of the ear to date. Please be aware this simulator is not intended for entertainment purposes, but is a serious research tool for those applying drug and other substances to the inner ear. This simulator is rather more more complex than previous versions. It now includes all the fluid and tissue compartments of the cochlea (including spiral ligament, spiral ganglion, auditory nerve, etc.) and all the fluid compartments of the vestibule.
The program is written in “Real Basic”. The reasons for this choice were:
The program does not need to be “Installed”. It is provided as a stand-alone .EXE file that runs without any installation.
The program can be run on a MAC or PC. A wide-screen monitor is preferred. but it runs fine on a laptop. It is a processor-intensive program so runs better on faster computers.
Download
Simulator Program 3.063 (2.1 Mb zip file) for Windows
Save the Zip file to your desktop, then right click on it and “Extract” the contents. This will create the FluidSim3 folder at a location you choose (default=wherever you saved the zip file). You can then open the folder and click on Fluidsim3063.exe which will start the program. You can also right-click on the program icon, drag it to the desktop and select “Create shortcut” so that a program icon is placed on the desktop. Do not move the program itself. It must remain in the Fluidsim3 folder with all the associated files in order to run.
Download
Simulator Program 3.063 (4.9 Mb zip file) for Mac
Save the zipped file to any location, usually in your downloads directory.
Extract the files by clicking on the zipped file and an uncompressed folder will be created. This folder can be temporarily dragged to the desktop to make it easier to find.
Open FluidSim3_MAC and locate the "Quesa.Framework" folder. Place this folder into your computer library's "Frameworks" folder. The path to this location is Macintosh HD > system > Library > Frameworks.
Once the "Quesa.Framework" folder is in the correct location you are now able to run the FluidSim3.0 application.
FluidSim3.0.app should be run from the FluidSim3_MAC folder. For convenience you may drag the entire folder into your applications folder
A shortcut to the FluidSim3.0.app can be dragged to the dock if needed.
Download Instruction Manual (pdf file).
If you need specific help, e-mail me at salta@ent.wustl.edu
To start using the program – first select the “Demo” options from the upper taskbar. Each Demo loads a specific set of parameters. Hit the “Simulate” button to start the calculations with each specific configuration. Output is shown on the “Display” page, or on the “Graphs” page (via the Window option on the taskbar).
The generation of this program has been supported by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant through the National Institutes on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), grant number DC 01368. The program has been developed earlier than original expected due to an NIH “Advancing the Science” supplement, received as part of the President's 2009 Economic Stimulus Program.
Programming of the model was performed by Alec Salt and Mason Bretan.