On the Influence of Mechanical Conditions on Osteochondral Healing - A Biomechanical Perspective

Current computers of high speed and capacity allowbiomechanicists in an efficient way to prove their understanding ofcomplex biological processes for example those involved duringspontaneous osteochondral healing. For the simulation of biologicalrules of healing classical in vitro measurements during animalexperimentation are required. This step is known as modelvalidation. That is, the computational model should be able toreproduce the different phases observed in the experimental model.It is then possible to simulate the required mechanical conditionsfor tissue regeneration systematically. In this book, the conceptsof and the numerical methods behind such a created model arepresented. The principal idea is thus, to find the necessarymechanical conditions for healing with tissues having the samemechanical quality as the native tissues. The use of this kind ofnumericalmodels in the clinical praxis not only improves ourtheoretical knowledge of osteochondral healing, but also allows anoptimal patient specific treatment. In this work the algorithm of adynamical finite element computational model for simulation ofosteochondral healing is described and discussed.