Biomechanics of Soft Tissue
Suggested readings
K.D. Costa, P.J. Hunter, J.S. Wayne, L.K. Waldman, J.M. Guccione, A.D. McCulloch, “A three-dimensional finite element method for large elastic deformations of ventricular myocardium: II-Prolate spheroidal coordinates”, J. Biomech. Engrg, vol. 118, 464–472, 1996.
Y.C. Fung, “Biomechanics. Motion, Flow, Stress, and Growth”, Springer, New York, 1990.
Y.C. Fung, “Biomechanics. Mechanical Properties of Living Tissues”, Springer, New York, 2nd ed., 1993.
K. Hayashi, A. Kamiya, K. Ono (Eds.), “Biomechanics – Functional Adaptation and Remodeling”, Springer, Tokyo, 1996.
G.A. Holzapfel, “Nonlinear Solid Mechanics. A Continuum Approach for Engineering”, Wiley, Chichester, 2000.
J.D. Humphrey, “Mechanics of the Arterial Wall: Review and Directions”, Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 23, 1–162, 1995.
R.W. Ogden, “Non-linear Elastic Deformations”, Dover, New York, 1997.
The course will include lectures on the histological structure of soft tissues, which will discuss the different components of several tissues and their contributions to the overall mechanical response. This is essential background for developing both microscopic and macroscopic material models in order to understand the underlying physiological functions. Lectures detailing experimental techniques and the results of experiments will be given to provide information about the highly nonlinear mechanical response of various soft tissues under different loading conditions. This will form the basis for the mechanical modelling, which will be examined in lectures dealing with nonlinear elasticity, viscoelasticity and plastic mechanisms, with particular reference to anisotropic response associated with fibre reinforcement. The topics of tissue remodelling and growth (important for, e.g., wound healing, adaptation to arterial hypertension, aneurysm development, morphogenesis etc.), will also be featured together with aspects of arterial grafting and analysis of the influence of residual stress, ageing and degeneration on the mechanical characteristics. In addition, the increasingly important topic of functional tissue engineering is also discussed.
A series of lectures will provide a basis for the implementation of the mechanical models in numerical codes, and representative numerical examples will be used to link the various aspects of the other lectures. An efficient numerical tool is one of the prerequisites for the design and development of soft tissue prosthetics and has the potential to greatly improve diagnostics and therapeutical procedures that involve soft tissue mechanics. Possible directions for future investigations in this rapidly developing subject will be discussed.
The course is addressed to PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in mechanical and civil engineering, applied mathematics, physics, biomedical engineering, physiology and materials science interested in broadening their knowledge in the area of biomechanics, and to senior scientists and engineers (including some from relevant industries).