Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
On the other hand, when the role of scaffold compliance was studied the model
predicted that in low compliance scaffolds a higher level of luminal ingrowth occurs
at the onset of growth which accounts for IH formation and thickening of the vessel
and therefore further reduces the cyclic strain in comparison to the compliant
scaffolds. Therefore, the simulations suggest that the optimal scaffold for vascular
tissue engineering should have similar compliance to arteries in order to minimise
IH and enhance ECM synthesis and remodelling.
Such insightful conclusions from the simulations clarify an important potential
application of the multiscale mechanobiological models in vascular tissue
engineering which is to serve as efficient platforms for testing hypotheses on
multiscale phenomena that are not easy to test in the laboratory. The outcome of the
simulations can then help to optimise in-vitro experiments and develop new tissue
engineering strategies in-vivo.
3 Discussion
Whilst progress has undoubtedly been made in recent years in developing suitable
multi-scale vascular mechanobiological models which can provide a basis for better
understanding the mechanisms of vascular disease and optimising its treatment,
there still remains considerable potential in future development of this
methodology. In many respects, computational resources currently limit the
complexity of established multiscale models. Arterial constitutive models are now
well established which are anisotropic and have fibre remodelling capabilities [ 57 ].
Incorporation of such material models into multiscale mechanobiological models
will provide a means of better exploring the cell driven adaptations of native
vascular fibre networks and the influence such adaptations have on the
macromechanical behaviour of arteries. In addition, these models will provide a
more accurate framework for optimisation of medical devices and tissue engineered
vessels. This could provide significant benefits in terms of understanding the role of
resident vascular smooth muscle and stem cells in vascular repair or in the
development of novel strategies in the development of vascular tissue engineered
blood vessels with improved long-term performance.
In many ways, the true power of such multiscale models will only be fully
realised when advances in computational capabilities enable 3D patient specific
multiscale mechanobiological models to be combined with stochastic modelling
approaches, such that models are capable of predicting multiple outputs for a given
medical device or therapy which are dependent on patient specific anatomies,
obtained from in-vivo imaging, patient history and even genetic information. In
this way such multiscale models could provide preclinical data which would rival
that generated from animal or even clinical trials without the associated safety,
ethical or cost concerns.
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