research statement
one of the most challenging applications of the mechanics of solid materials
today is certainly
the field of computational biomechanics, a well-recognized, fast-growing but not yet
clearly defined subject that is unquestionably an interdisciplinary science par
excellence. It provides a vast number of
new and fascinating areas of application such as
the internal and external remodeling of bones,
the healing of fracture,
the growth of tumors,
wound healing of the epidermis,
the regeneration of microdamaged muscles,
functional adaptation and
general repair processes of the cardiovascular system to name but a few.
besides a basic knowledge in medicine, biology and chemistry,
research in the field of computational biomechanics requires a profound
theoretical background in thermodynamics, continuum mechanics
and structural mechanics paired with the ability to develop efficient
robust and stable computational simulation tools.
my ultimate goal is to establish an interactive computer-based biomechanical lab
that supports the solution of medically and technologically challenging
biomechanical problems.
selected research accomplishments
in contrast to traditional engineering materials, living organisms show the
remarkable ability to adapt not only their geometry, but also their internal
architecture and their material properties to environmental changes.
although this functional adaptation of biological tissues has been known
since julius wolff published his fundamental law of bone remodeling in 1892,
research in biomechanics mainly focuses on the passive behavior of tissues
rather than taking into account their active response
to changes in mechanical loading. instead of following mainstream research and
applying standard
classical constitutive equations to biological materials,
my personal research was driven by the desire to formulate appropriate continuum
equations that properly account for the functional adaptation of
living tissues. this adaptation is known to occur in three different forms which
have dominated my previous research:
density growth
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volume growth
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while growth phenomena in hard biological tissue can essentially be attributed to local changes in density, growth in soft biological tissues typically takes place in the form of huge volumetric changes. motivated by the classical ideas in large strain plasticity, we have adopted the concept of a fictitious configuration to characterize the kinematics of growth. we have developed an efficient simulation tool for volumetric growth which has been applied to the simulation of atherosclerosic plaque growth. the model was implemented in a commercial finite element package and applied it to the simulation of in-stent restenosis. the results of the simulation are based on patient-specific geometries generated from computer tomography.
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microstructural remodeling
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In a corresponding continuum model, characteristic microstructural orientations can be represented by fiber vectors. guided by minimization principles, we have developed a concept of fiber reorientation in which a single characteristic microstructural orientation is allowed to gradually align with the maximum principal strain direction. a typical application of this model can be found within the field of tissue engineering where tissue replacements are grown outside the human
body. due to the absence of mechanical loading, these in vitro engineered functional tissue constructs typically lack a pronounced microstructural orientation. however, the formation of this orientation can be stimulated by subjecting the growing tissue to different mechanical loading scenarios. In close collaboration with experts intissue engineering from the university of michigan, we have been able to qualitatively validate our fiber reorientation model. the long term goal of this project is the optimal stimulation of microstructural growth. conceptually speaking, we strive for finding the optimal amount, frequency and direction of loading with the aim of reproducing the in vivo conditions as realistic as possible.
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current projects
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