SOFT-TISSUES · Mathematical modelling of soft tissues

Mathematical modelling of soft tissues

The last two decades have witnessed an explosion of scientific, medical and industrial activity in the area of “living tissues modelling”, with a particular focus on biological soft tissues. This recent tremendous effort can be explained by (i) the availability of a mature mathematical framework for writing down the equations governing their behaviour: the theory of nonlinear elasticity; (ii) ever-increasing computational power and techniques, making sophisticated and intensive calculations (both algebraic and numerical) less costly and more accurate; (iii) a strong need from medical doctors, surgeons and biomedical engineers to improve episodes of care for patients through computer simulations of events and procedures based on sound physical principles and reproducible experimental protocols. Soft biological tissues (e.g. skin, internal organs, cardiovascular system. etc.) have many common mechanical features: their response to applied forces is markedly nonlinear; they allow for large strains; and they all exhibit the presence of residual stresses (i.e. they are still under stress when external loads are removed, because of a build-up of forces due to growth and remodelling). The theory of nonlinear elasticity can account for all these effects and in principle, the equations of equilibrium and of motion can be written down for any given model. In practice, they are extremely difficult to solve, even numerically. Moreover, the material parameters of a model must be determined experimentally with a reasonable accuracy in order to determine the magnitude of forces involved in, for instance, the reconstruction of an impact accident. Several testing protocols have been proposed to this end, but still lack authority essentially because, compared to common engineering materials, the properties of soft tissues are highly variable according to site, age, gender, health, etc. In this context, the SOFT-TISSUES project aimed at: • improving our understanding of the mathematics and the mechanics of living soft tissues; • confronting theoretical predictions to experimental results, with a view to propose computer code and simulations, to be used in biomedical science; • attempting to improve medical diagnosis methods and simulations and to developing medical strategies for disease prevention.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз