Suvranu De – författare

Presenting a state-of-the-art overview of theoretical and computational models that link characteristic biomechanical phenomena, this book provides guidelines and examples for creating multiscale models in representative systems and organisms. It develops the reader''s understanding of and intuition for multiscale phenomena in biomechanics and mechanobiology, and introduces a mathematical framework and computational techniques paramount to creating predictive multiscale models.

Biomechanics involves the study of the interactions of physical forces with biological systems at all scales – including molecular, cellular, tissue and organ scales. The emerging field of mechanobiology focuses on the way that cells produce and respond to mechanical forces – bridging the science of mechanics with the disciplines of genetics and molecular biology. Linking disparate spatial and temporal scales using computational techniques is emerging as a key concept in investigating some of the complex problems underlying these disciplines.

Providing an invaluable field manual for graduate students and researchers of theoretical and computational modelling in biology, this book is also intended for readers interested in biomedical engineering, applied mechanics and mathematical biology.

Availability of advanced computational technology has fundamentally altered the investigative paradigm in the field of biomechanics. Armed with sophisticated computational tools, researchers are seeking answers to fundamental questions by exploring complex biomechanical phenomena at the molecular, cellular, tissue and organ levels. The computational armamentarium includes such diverse tools as the ab initio quantum mechanical and molecular dynamics methods at the atomistic scales and the finite element, boundary element, meshfree as well as immersed boundary and lattice-Boltzmann methods at the continuum scales. Multiscale methods that link various scales are also being developed. While most applications require forward analysis, e.g., finding deformations and stresses as a result of loading, others involve determination of constitutive parameters based on tissue imaging and inverse analysis. This book provides a glimpse of the diverse and important roles that modern computational technology is playing in various areas of biomechanics including biofluids and mass transfer, cardiovascular mechanics, musculoskeletal mechanics, soft tissue mechanics, and biomolecular mechanics.