Computational Biomechanics helps us to understand the functioning of organs and/or biological structures as well as to predict the changes that tissues undergo due to different factors, whether mechanical, biological or pharmacological.
Summary
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- 1 Introduction
- 2 Definition
- 3 Emergence and development
- 4 Rationale
- 5 Applications
- 6 Fountains
Introduction
The study in Biomechanics can be theoretical, experimental or computational. The realization at the experimental level is expensive and sometimes very difficult to execute, this together with the great advances in computing at the level of speed, cost and graphic visualization, makes Computational Biomechanics of great interest. The use of Finite Element programs for the modeling and analysis of biomechanical problems is becoming a very interesting tool, due to the ability to address highly complex problems, in addition to the great practical applicability they possess, such as pre-planning. -operative.
Definition
Computational biomechanics refers to computerized simulations of biomechanical systems, both to test and refine theoretical models, and for technical applications. Both solid models are usually used to simulate kinematic behaviors, as well as finite element models to simulate deformation and resistance properties of tissues and biological elements. The type of analysis required in general is in the large strain regime, so material models generally use non-linear relationships between stresses and strains.
Emergence and development
Computational Biomechanics makes its appearance to promote new lines of biomedical research. The introduction of computational methods, specifically finite elements, to orthopedic biomechanics began in 1972, the year in which publications on stress evaluation in human bones began. Since this year, the frequency of publications on bone structures, bone-prostheses, fracture fixation mechanisms and their relationship with other tissues has increased exponentially. The objectives of the investigations carried out were to establish relationships between loads and bone morphology, and to establish optimal designs for fixations, prostheses and to improve implant techniques.
rationale
Applying the fundamental laws of conservation: of mass , momentum, energy and on the basis of the entropy principle, biologically plausible relationships are established to formulate computational models that describe biological processes.
Computational Biomechanics helps us to understand the functioning of organs and/or biological structures as well as to predict the changes that tissues undergo due to different factors, whether mechanical, biological or pharmacological. Modeling and analysis using Finite Elements is one of the most common tools in this line, which has been possible thanks to different factors, such as: the strong technological advance in the acquisition of medical images through computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the increased performance of computers, the formulation of behavior models that faithfully reproduce physicsof the problem, the improvement of experimentation techniques to characterize, both in-‐vitro and in-‐vivo, the parameters of the mathematical models and their subsequent validation.
The tools of classical mechanics, such as fluid mechanics, solid mechanics and motion analysis are used to understand the behavior of different tissues (and organs) such as soft tissue, hard tissue and cell mechanics. Hard tissue analysis has been the most studied from a computational point of view. For this, elasticity and concepts of advanced solid mechanics are used, such as viscoelasticity, hyperelasticity and plasticity (nonlinear solid mechanics). The solution methods of these solid mechanics models generally use the finite element method.
Applications
Computational Biomechanics has served in multiple areas of medicine applying mechanics as an analysis tool. However, the greatest application in this area has been in solving orthopedic problems and understanding the musculoskeletal system.
This is how several research groups are created in the world, whose main researchers are Dennis Carter from the biomechanics group at Stanford University ( United States ), Peter Hunter from the bioengineering group at the University of Auckland ( New Zealand ), Stephen Cowin from the City College of New York (United States), Rik Huiskes of the Biomedical Engineering division of the Technical University of Eindhoven ( The Netherlands), Manuel Doblaré from the Structure and Materials Modeling group at the University of Zaragoza ( Spain ), among others. In these groups, Biomechanics research has been specifically divided into simulation of muscle , tendons and ligaments (also called soft tissues) and simulation of bone (hard tissue).
In addition, other simulations have been carried out, to a lesser extent, such as models of the heart , veins and arteries (which is framed in soft tissue) and cell research (cell mechanics)
