On the Influence of Mechanical Conditions on Osteochondral Healing: a Biomechanical Perspective

Current computers of high speed and capacity allow biomechanicists in an efficient way to prove their understanding of complex biological processes for example those involved during spontaneous osteochondral healing. For the simulation of biological rules of healing classical in vitro measurements during animal experimentation are required. This step is known as model validation. That is, the computational model should be able to reproduce the different phases observed in the experimental model. It is then possible to simulate the required mechanical conditions for tissue regeneration systematically. In this book, the concepts of and the numerical methods behind such a created model are presented. The principal idea is thus, to find the necessary mechanical conditions for healing with tissues having the same mechanical quality as the native tissues. The use of this kind of numerical models in the clinical praxis not only improves our theoretical knowledge of osteochondral healing, but also allows an optimal patient specific treatment. In this work the algorithm of a dynamical finite element computational model for simulation of osteochondral healing is described and discussed.