In Silico ,In Vitro and In Vivo Testing of Biodevices - Advanced Design and Manufacturing Technologies for Biomedical Devices - page 269

15.2 The Importance of In Silico Testing

In silico testing refers to the use of computation tools for simulating the performance
of products and devices, normally before the manufacture of prototypes, or as an
additional help for optimising the design, once results from trials with prototypes
are available.
The advances in FEM-based simulation and its much more direct connection to
computer-aided design programmes, especially during last two decades, have
greatly promoted the use of in silico testing in all kinds of industrial sectors. In the
biomedical sector, such expansion is very relevant indeed, as it enables more ana-
lytical validation processes, which greatly reduce the number of prototypes required
for in vitro / ex vivo / in vivo testing and, what is much more important, the number of
animals used for preclinical in vivo trials.
A comprehensive description of different types of FEM-based simulations
(linked to static loading, to dynamic response, to thermal behaviour and to fl uidic
and contact phenomena) with several cases of study has been provided in Chap. 8 ,
and some additional examples are also included in Chap. 7 , when describing the
mechanical performance of metamaterials, porous and lattice structures.
Computer-aided design resources provide additional tools for in silico evaluation
of a design, such as assembly modules for detecting possible collisions during
service life, movement simulation tools for studying dynamic effects and some
remarkable parametric anthropometric models for ergonomic assessment of novel
devices. Figure 15.1 provides an example of in silico validation of the ergonomical
features of a splint for aided tracheotomy (see the whole device in Fig. 16.5 ).

Fig. 15.1 Parametric anthropometric model for in silico validation of the ergonomical features of
a splint for aided tracheotomy (See the whole device in Fig. 16.5 )