This book focuses on the mechanobiological principles in tissue engineering with a particular emphasis on the multiscale aspects of the translation of mechanical forces from bioreactors down to the cellular level. The book contributes to a better understanding of the design and use of bioreactors for tissue engineering and the use of mechanical loading to optimize in vitro cell culture conditions. It covers experimental and computational approaches and the combination of both to show the benefits that computational modelling can bring to experimentalists when studying in vitro cell culture within a scaffold. With topics from multidisciplinary fields of the life sciences, medicine, and engineering, this work provides a novel approach to the use of engineering tools for the optimization of biological processes and its application to regenerative medicine. The volume is a valuable resource for researchers and graduate students studying mechanobiology and tissue engineering. For undergraduate students it also provides deep insight into tissue engineering and its use in the design of bioreactors. The book is supplemented with extensive references for all chapters to help the reader to progress through the study of each topic.

The book presents state-of-the-art developments in multiscale modeling and latest experimental data on multiscale mechanobiology of bone remodeling and adaptation including fracture healing applications. The multiscale models include musculoskeletal models describing bone-muscle interactions during daily activities such as walking or running, micromechanical models for estimation of bone mechanical properties, bone remodeling and adaptation models, cellular models describing the complex bone-cell interactions taking into account biochemical and biomechanical regulatory factors. Also subcellular processes are covered including arrangement of actin filaments due to mechanical loading and change of receptor configurations.

Mechanobiology in Health and Disease brings together contributions from leading biologists, clinicians, physicists and engineers in one convenient volume, providing a unified source of information for researchers in this highly multidisciplinary area. Opening chapters provide essential background information on cell mechanotransduction and essential mechanobiology methods and techniques. Other sections focus on the study of mechanobiology in healthy systems, including bone, tendons, muscles, blood vessels, the heart and the skin, as well as mechanobiology studies of pregnancy. Final chapters address the nascent area of mechanobiology in disease, from the study of bone conditions, skin diseases and heart diseases to cancer. A discussion of future perspectives for research completes each chapter in the volume. This is a timely resource for both early-career and established researchers working on mechanobiology. - Provides an essential digest of primary research from many fields and disciplines in one convenient volume - Covers both experimental approaches and descriptions of mechanobiology problems from mathematical and numerical perspectives - Addresses the hot topic of mechanobiology in disease, a particularly dynamic field of frontier science

One of the major challenges in tissue engineering is the translation of biological knowledge on complex cell and tissue behavior into a predictive and robust engineering process. Mastering this complexity is an essential step towards clinical applications of tissue engineering. This volume discusses computational modeling tools that allow studying the biological complexity in a more quantitative way. More specifically, computational tools can help in: (i) quantifying and optimizing the tissue engineering product, e.g. by adapting scaffold design to optimize micro-environmental signals or by adapting selection criteria to improve homogeneity of the selected cell population; (ii) quantifying and optimizing the tissue engineering process, e.g. by adapting bioreactor design to improve quality and quantity of the final product; and (iii) assessing the influence of the in vivo environment on the behavior of the tissue engineering product, e.g. by investigating vascular ingrowth. The book presents examples of each of the above mentioned areas of computational modeling. The underlying tissue engineering applications will vary from blood vessels over trachea to cartilage and bone. For the chapters describing examples of the first two areas, the main focus is on (the optimization of) mechanical signals, mass transport and fluid flow encountered by the cells in scaffolds and bioreactors as well as on the optimization of the cell population itself. In the chapters describing modeling contributions in the third area, the focus will shift towards the biology, the complex interactions between biology and the micro-environmental signals and the ways in which modeling might be able to assist in investigating and mastering this complexity. The chapters cover issues related to (multiscale/multiphysics) model building, training and validation, but also discuss recent advances in scientific computing techniques that are needed to implement these models as well as new tools that can be used to experimentally validate the computational results.

Biomechanics and Functional Tissue Engineering is a useful resource for scientists, researchers, engineers, and clinical practitioners involved in bioengineering solutions for improved patient quality of life. It focuses on the potentially impactful role of applied and functional bio-dental tissue engineering, drug/gene delivery (controlled and metered systems) and cell therapy, bioscaffolds, image-guided and image-assisted surgery, nanodentistry, and biomechanics towards developing better solutions for problems and conditions of the orodental and cranio-maxillofacial complex and beyond.

Advances in Biomedical Engineering Research and Application / 2012 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Biomedical Engineering. The editors have built Advances in Biomedical Engineering Research and Application / 2012 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Biomedical Engineering in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Advances in Biomedical Engineering Research and Application / 2012 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

The book presents a state-of-the-art overview of biomechanical and mechanobiological modeling and simulation of soft biological tissues. Seven well-known scientists working in that particular field discuss topics such as biomolecules, networks and cells as well as failure, multi-scale, agent-based, bio-chemo-mechanical and finite element models appropriate for computational analysis. Applications include arteries, the heart, vascular stents and valve implants as well as adipose, brain, collagenous and engineered tissues. The mechanics of the whole cell and sub-cellular components as well as the extracellular matrix structure and mechanotransduction are described. In particular, the formation and remodeling of stress fibers, cytoskeletal contractility, cell adhesion and the mechanical regulation of fibroblast migration in healing myocardial infarcts are discussed. The essential ingredients of continuum mechanics are provided. Constitutive models of fiber-reinforced materials with an emphasis on arterial walls and the myocardium are discussed and the important influence of residual stresses on material response emphasized. The mechanics and function of the heart, the brain and adipose tissues are discussed as well. Particular attention is focused on microstructural and multi-scale modeling, finite element implementation and simulation of cells and tissues.

Biomaterials are often designed to act as scaffolds, i.e., 3D porous templates that support and stimulate the growth of healthy tissue and then safely dissolve once they have performed their functions. This book provides a picture of the current state of the art in the field of scaffolds for tissue engineering, highlighting the potential associated to the latest scientific and technological advancements. The former part of the book focuses on the repair of "hard" tissues (primarily bone) by means of bioceramic/glass scaffolds, and the latter deals with the applications of polymeric scaffolds for regenerating "soft" tissues and structures including the peripheral nerve, heart, gastric mucosa and pancreas. Special emphasis is given to the challenges associated to scaffold manufacturing, biomimetic properties and cell-scaffold interactions.

Multiscale Modelling in Biomedical Engineering Discover how multiscale modeling can enhance patient treatment and outcomes In Multiscale Modelling in Biomedical Engineering, an accomplished team of biomedical professionals delivers a robust treatment of the foundation and background of a general computational methodology for multi-scale modeling. The authors demonstrate how this methodology can be applied to various fields of biomedicine, with a particular focus on orthopedics and cardiovascular medicine. The book begins with a description of the relationship between multiscale modeling and systems biology before moving on to proceed systematically upwards in hierarchical levels from the molecular to the cellular, tissue, and organ level. It then examines multiscale modeling applications in specific functional areas, like mechanotransduction, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular systems. Multiscale Modelling in Biomedical Engineering offers readers experiments and exercises to illustrate and implement the concepts contained within. Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of: A thorough introduction to systems biology and multi-scale modeling, including a survey of various multi-scale methods and approaches and analyses of their application in systems biology Comprehensive explorations of biomedical imaging and nanoscale modeling at the molecular, cell, tissue, and organ levels Practical discussions of the mechanotransduction perspective, including recent progress and likely future challenges In-depth examinations of risk prediction in patients using big data analytics and data mining Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students of bioengineering, biomechanics, biomedical engineering, and medicine, Multiscale Modelling in Biomedical Engineering will also earn a place in the libraries of industry professional and researchers seeking a one-stop reference to the basic engineering principles of biological systems.

Explores a Range of Multiscale Biomechanics/Mechanobiology ConceptsCell and Matrix Mechanics presents cutting-edge research at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels in the field of cell mechanics. This book involves key experts in the field, and covers crucial areas of cell and tissue mechanics, with an emphasis on the roles of mechanical forc