Authors:
Andrés Díaz Lantada
;
Miguel Urosa Sánchez
and
David Fernández Fernández
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, ETSI Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Keyword(s):
Software as Medical Device, in silico Tissue Engineering, Cell Simulation, Cellular Automata, Finite Element Modelling, Multi-Scale Modelling.
Abstract:
An innovative approach for in silico tissue engineering and cancer treatment is presented in this study. It is based on the employment of cellular automata (CA) and cellular automata hybridised with finite-element models (FEM) for simulating cells within tissue engineering scaffolds. Thanks to the presented strategy, it has been possible to model cells colonising scaffolds, the interactions among different populations of cells and between the cells and the scaffolds as extracellular matrices, and the effects of external stimuli, like temperature, for treating disease. Among the advances incorporated to conventional models based on cellular automata it is important to mention: the establishment of a direct connection between CAD models and the simulation workspace, the incorporation of a wall factor for considering the affinity of cells for the extracellular matrix, the coupling of FEM simulations to the cellular automata for rendering them more versatile, and the modelling of interac
tions among different types of cells. Results, limitations, and potentials of these simulation approaches are presented and discussed, in connection with current trends in software as a medical device (SaMD).
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