Special sessions

The special sessions are a traditional element of the CMBBE Symposium programme and focus on new emerging research areas and developments in the field. They offer a combination of invited and other contributions from the general abstract submission on selected topics. Below you may find more information regarding the special sessions taking place at CMBBE 2024. 

Chairs:
Simone Saitta, Politecnico di Milano, Italy 
Francesco Sturla, Policlinico San Donato. Italy

Computational models have revolutionized cardiovascular research, improving diagnosis, treatment, and device engineering. Recently, machine learning techniques have shown unprecedented performance in extracting further knowledge and relations from medical data. By synergistically leveraging these two approaches, new and more challenging issues could be tackled to support personalized cardiovascular medicine. This special session will explore the latest advances in integrating machine learning and mechanistic computational models to create digital twins of the cardiovascular system. Topics will include, but are not limited to, risk assessment models, treatment prediction systems, and state-of-the-art strategies for understanding pathophysiology and improving cardiovascular research.

Chairs:
Thomas Oxland, ICORD, Canada
Sidney Fels, University of British Columbia, Canada
Jeff Barrett, University of British Columbia, Canada
Nima Ashjaee, University of British Columbia, Canada

Over the years, the field of biomechanical modelling has made remarkable strides in advancing our understanding of spinal mechanics and function. From elucidating the role of the spine musculature in everyday function to predicting traumatic injuries, spine modelling has achieved exceptional successes in the realm of basic science. As we gather at the “Spine Modelling Meets the Clinic” conference, we aim to acknowledge and celebrate these accomplishments. However, we also recognize an imperative need: the translation of these fundamental discoveries into tangible clinical applications. Especially with the unprecedented access to computation, there is a substantial opportunity to use state-of-the-art modelling techniques to address novel clinical questions. This special session seeks to serve as a bridge between the outstanding past achievements in spine modelling and their potential to improve clinical practice. We will explore the possibilities of harnessing biomechanical insights to inform surgical procedures, improve patient outcomes, and enhance preventative efforts for chronic spine disorders.

Chairs:
Yunhua Luo, University of Manitoba, Canada
Thomas Turgeon, University of Manitoba, Canada
Trevor Gascoyne, Orthopaedic Innovation Center (OIC) Manitoba, Canada

The medical field is advancing at an unprecedented pace, the realm of orthopedic devices is no exception. The spotlight increasingly shifts from one-size-fits-all approach towards customization and individualization. Today, as our understanding of human anatomy, biomechanics, and individual biological traits deepens, it becomes abundantly clear that personalizing orthopedic devices can lead to significantly improved patient outcomes. Such personalization is not merely a luxury but an imperative. Every individual has unique anatomical and physiological nuances, and orthopedic devices, which play a pivotal role in ensuring mobility and quality of life, must reflect this diversity. Personalized design ensures that these devices are tailored to fit the patient’s specific biological and mechanical needs, leading to faster recovery, reduced complications, and increased longevity of the device. Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, has revolutionized the way these personalized devices come to life. This manufacturing technique facilitates the creation of complex geometries and patient-specific devices with a precision that was previously unimaginable. From intricate lattice structures that allow for optimal bone integration to devices tailored based on a patient’s unique medical imaging, additive manufacturing paves the way for innovations that seemed like distant dreams a few decades ago. Furthermore, the merging of personalized design and additive manufacturing promises not only enhanced clinical outcomes but also operational efficiencies. Shortened time, reduced wastage, and the ability to iterate and improve designs rapidly are but a few of the manifold advantages.

Chairs:
Aisling Ni Annaidh, University College Dublin, Ireland
Adrian Buganza Tepole, Purdue University, United States

The skin plays a pivotal role in various biomechanical applications, from tissue engineering to medical device design. This session will provide a platform for experts to discuss recent advances in computational techniques, including physics informed machine learning techniques and Multiphysics approaches. Emerging applications in the field of skin biomechanics including skin disease, aging, growth and subcutaneous drug delivery are welcome. Both fundamental and applications driven skin mechanics research are encouraged. Our goal is to encourage cross-disciplinary cooperation and exchange knowledge on how computational techniques are moulding our understanding of skin mechanics.

Chair: 
Junfeng Zhang, Laurentian University, Canada

Microscopic blood flows in microvessels and capillaries have been extensively investigated for decades. Due to the intrinsic complexity, significant challenges exist in experimental measurements; and computer modelling and numerical studies have been proven valuable in providing crucial information for better understanding microscopic blood flows and associated biological processes, such as gas transfer and flow-vessel interaction.This session provides a unique forum for researchers to share their recent findings and explore future directions in relevant areas. The speakers of this session  have been active in computational microscopic blood flows and blood cell dynamics; and their research encompasses different numerical technologies and addresses different biological and biomedical aspects of blood flows in the microcirculation. This session could also be interesting to young scientists who plan to pursue research in these areas.

Chairs:
Marwan El-Rich, Khalifa University, United Arab Emirates
Kinda Khalaf, Khalifa University, United Arab Emirates 
Herbert Jelinek, Khalifa University, United Arab Emirates

• Multi-modal gait assessment- synchronised evaluation of human motion using motion capture, electromyography, force platforms/ walkways, and/or electroencephalogram.
• Musculoskeletal modelling for gait assessment- subject specific modelling, improvements/ personalization in MSK models, impaired MSK modelling
• Computer Vision and Pattern Detection in gait- development, enhancement and application of computer vision tools to assess gait
• Artificiel Intelligence (IA)- gait identification and quantification.

Chairs:
Yuan Feng, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Songbai Ji, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, United States

The session is on the recent research advances in brain biomechanics, especially image and machine-learning based brain biomechanics research. Topics include both tissue and cellular level studies on brain biomechanics, such as using multimodal imaging or deep-learning techniques for characterization and modelling of brain.

Chairs:
Paulo Eduardo Ambrosio, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Brazil
Ingrid Winkler, SENAI-CIMATEC, Brazil

Virtual and augmented reality are novel technologies that could greatly transform the healthcare sector. They have the ability to enhance the education and training of healthcare practicioners, improve surgical planning, expedite patient recovery and promote health education and awareness, among other possible applications. The proposed special session seeks tho offer a forum for healthcare professionals, researchers, and technology developers to exchange knowledge, experiences and ideas on the applications of immersive reality in healthcare. Additionally, it offers an opportunity for collaboration on projects in the field

Chairs:
Cari Whyne, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Canada
Stewart McLachlin, University of Waterloo, Canada

Clinician-scientists play a key role in the translational of biomechanical models for treating their patients and improving health care outcomes. This session will provide perspectives from leading clinician-scientists on how they develop and use biomechanical modelling to influence their clinical practices in orthopaedic surgery.

Chair: 
Anita Vasavada, Washington State University, United States

Neck musculoskeletal models are increasingly being used to assess potential for injury and chronic pain, with applications toward automotive, sports, military, ergonomics and rehabilitation. Several research groups have developed different types of models (such as multibody dynamics or finite element models) with different features. The purpose of this special session is to bring those researchers together to discuss challenges they have faced, how they have solved them, and how we can all work together to improve the next generation of neck musculoskeletal models.

Chairs:
Behrooz Fereidoonnezhad, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands
Gerhard Holzapfel, Graz University of Technology, Austria & NTNU, Trondheim, Norway

Multiscale computational models ranging from the scale of individual cells to the organ level are proving valuable for understanding the relationships between the microstructure of tissues and their mechanical properties. These models also help explore how cells interact with the extracellular matrix and how tissues respond to external stimuli. This mini-symposium focuses on discussing recent advances and upcoming challenges in computational modeling of soft tissue across different length scales, covering topics such as tissue growth and remodeling, tissue damage and failure, multi-physics models, and structure-mechanics relationships.

Chairs:
Stewart McLachlin, University of Waterloo, Canada
Michael Hardisty, University of Toronto, Canada

Artificial intelligence is rapidly developing and offers significant potential to transform healthcare. Clinical and industrial stakeholders will discuss in this session how AI development can be translated into clinical practice.

Chairs:
Sidney Fels, University of British Columbia, Canada
Ian Stavness, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

Biomechanical models that combine both finite element modeling (FEM) and multibody methods (e.g. rigid bodies, joint, line-based muscles) offer advantages over those using exclusively one or the other. FEM allows finely detailed analysis of small deformities and stresses for a region of interest (e.g. joints, fine muscle structure), while the multibody model simulates the large-scale motions of more distant structures and provides loads and boundary conditions for the FEM. Computationally, this is far more efficient than using FEM for the entire model. Technical challenges remain: – What platforms or workflows best support this approach? -Where should the FEM/multibody transitions be placed? -How should coupling between the two models be handled? -Which applications benefit most? This special session will present work related to these and related questions. Attendees will be able to consider how combined FEM/multibody simulation might enhance their own research

Chair:
Britta Berg-Johansen, California Polytechnic State University, USA

Wearable sensing technologies have paved the way for more accessible, continuous, non-invasive health monitoring. Traditional musculoskeletal assessments such as those for gait, balance, sports activities, fall risk, and rehabilitation programs necessitate a visit to a clinic or motion analysis lab and often require expensive equipment and trained personnel. This special session will explore how the use of wearable sensors is revolutionizing the field of personalized musculoskeletal health monitoring and improving accessible prevention strategies for musculoskeletal injuries in every-day real-world settings.

Chairs: 
Anitha D. Praveen, ETH Centre, Singapore
Benedikt Helgason, ETHZ, Switzerland

Gait and bone strength significantly influences the risk of falls and fractures among older adults. In this special session, we explore the application of biomechanical models in population studies. We begin by examining the utility of wearable sensors for quantifying gait alterations and predicting fall risks within a large community-dwelling cohort. Subsequently, we delve into the assessment of fracture risk using patient-specific finite-element modelling, leveraging fully automated segmentation algorithms and clinically-accessible imaging modalities like opportunistic CT scans and widely-used DXA imaging. This approach enhances our ability to assess fall and fracture risks in large populations, especially among older adults, by developing more precise model-based biomarkers.

Chair:
Mahua Bhattacharya, Indian Institute for Information Technology and Management, India

This session foocuses on the application of Ai in the context of Autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases discoveries, specifically its role in discover the bio-markers, medical imaging, histopathological, genomic and proteomic data. Thesession aims to provide an overview of the current state of AI from the application of improvement in patient care for autoimmune diseases to AI based learning impact on diagnostics, treatment planning and biomarkers identification.

Chair:
Alvhild Skjelvik, Norweigian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway

The development of biomedical devices such as biosensors, smart sensors, IoT, IoMT and wearables (to mention a few examples) help us provide better care for patients through innovation, enable more efficient solutions and resource management. However, once these technologies become connected to the internet or other ways of communication such as RFID or BLE –vulnerability increases. Cybersecurity should not be an afterthought when developing technology, especially technology that can have implications on patient care and patient safety. It is important for engineers and professionals working in the field of developing these technologies to understand what potential threats, risk and vulnerabilities technology may be exposed to, and how to address this in the early stages of development. This session can start an important discussion in the field of biomechanics and biomedical engineering as to why cybersecurity is an important consideration both in developing and managing the technology

Chair: 
Christian M. Puttlitz, Colorado State University, USA

The use of finite element (and other computational) models in orthopaedic applications has enabled high throughput parametric analyses. This capability has dramatically improved our ability to examine broad potential solution domains, culminating in a refined methodology to guide physical experimentation and implant prototype design. In this session, we will explore how large-scale parametric finite element modelling has identified the critical aspects of temporomandibular disc replacement strategies, aligning with biomimetic performance targets. In addition, we will demonstrate how computational models guided the development of large animal external fixation models, leading to ground-based investigations of fracture healing in microgravity and bone transport. Finally, we will show how computational models have elucidated the mechanical underpinnings for using direct electromagnetic coupling techniques to discern the biomechanical course of bony fracture healing. For all of these applications, both successes and failures will be shared in order to elucidate the strengths and limitations of finite element modelling.

Chair:
Lidan You, University of Toronto, Canada

Both primary bone cancer and cancer bone metastasis from various types of cancers, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, involve active bone-cancer cross talk. It is well established that mechanical loading has a major impact on bone. However, the effect of mechanical loading on bone-cancer cross talk and its subsequent influence on tumor growth in bone remain unclear and constitute an emerging area of research investigation. In this special session, we will highlight the most recent advancements on this topic.

Chairs: 
Anne M. Robertson, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Victor Barocas, University of Minnesota, USA

Soft biological tissues play a vital mechanical role in organs throughout the body such as artery, eye, skin, intestine, tendons, and bladder. The proper functioning of these organs requires an effective process of maintenance, adaption and repair of the collagen fibers. This session will cover state of the art advances of experimental, bioimaging, theory and modeling approaches for understanding the remodeling and damage/failure processes in collagenous tissues. Such knowledge is crucial for improved treatment of disease and injury in biological tissues as well as the design of tissue engineered fibrous biomaterials. Applications to specific organs will also be discussed.

Chairs:
Mattia Bacca, The University of British Columbia, Canada
Alessio Gizzi, Alberto Salvadori, Eoin McEvoy

All living cells and tissues exert and experience physical forces that influence their function. Those mechanical processes are pivotal in the biophysics of embryonic formation, tumor angiogenesis, cancer growth and metastasis, and developmental diseases. Cells can sense and mechanically respond to their surroundings by attaching to extracellular matrix (ECM) fibers through the formation of focal adhesions, developing actin networks, and actively generating tension. These processes collectively guide many key aspects of cell behaviour.
This special session will focus on the latest advances in computational and theoretical modelling that provide new and fundamental insight into cellular mechanobiology and morphogenesis.

Chairs:
Vicky Wang, Auckland Bioengineering Institute, New Zealand
Mark Ratcliffe, University of California San Francisco, USA

In the era of “Digital Twin”, personalized computational modelling of the cardiovascular system has become a key driving force. In that regard, precision and accuracy of these personalized models is of utter most importance. Given that cardiac diastole is the cornerstone of any cardiac mechanics model, it is critically important that the following elements of a cardiac diastolic model are accurate:

• passive constitutive properties
• the “unstressed” or “unloaded” shape of the heart and
• kinematics boundary constraints.

The purpose of this special session is to gather world-leading researchers who work in the space of cardiac diastolic mechanics to openly discuss the state-of-the-art and associated challenges with the mind to establish an international consensus on the best modelling practice for cardiac diastole.

Cancer mechanobiology
Chairs: Valeria Panzetta, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Sabato Fusco, University of Molise, Italy

Cancer mechanobiology represents a new frontier in cancer research. It is providing a large body of knowledge on the mechanical role of the local microenvironment as a co-conspirator of tumor cells in tumor onset and progression. In particular, it is now widely appreciated that, during tumor growth, morpho-physical features of both cells and their neighborhood ECM are altered and these alterations result into a departure from the homeostatic cell-ECM mechanical equilibrium towards a new status characterized by an increased stiffness of the cell microenvironment. The tissues affected by malignant tumors are characterized by ECM accumulation, that leads to a severe fibrotic response, known as desmoplasia, and consequent tumor stiffening. 
Furthermore, the degree of stiffened tumor mechanical microenvironment appears to be correlated with very important pathways associated with the cell malignant transformation.

Clinical applications of high resolution CT 
Chairs: Philippe Zysset, University of Bern, Switzerland
 Bert van Rietbergen, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

High-resolution CT techniques that can resolve the trabecular structure in-vivo can reveal changes in bone morphology and strength due to aging, diseases and treatment. Although typically limited to peripheral sites (HR-pQCT) recent development on Cone Beam CT and Photon Counting CT also provide new options. In this session we aim at highlighting recent developments in this field of bone research.

Computational pulmonology: Recent advances & challenges
Chairs: Aline Bel-Brunon
LaMCoS, INSA-Lyon/CNRS, France
Martin Genet, MΞDISIM Team, Solid Mechanics Laboratory/École Polytechnique/Institut Polytechnique de Paris/CNRS & INRIA, France
 
 

Modern modeling and simulation tools can help strengthen and improve our understanding of lung biomechanics, especially structure-properties-function relationships in health & diseases, in an objective and quantitative manner, paving the way toward computer-aided decision making in medicine. But specific scientific challenges lie on this path, which are being addressed by a rather diverse community. The objective of this special session is to gather and structure this community, provide an overview of the current state of the art in the field, and pinpoint the main theoretical and practical bottlenecks faced by the community.

Digital twin of different scales and biological processes: the example of liver
Chairs: Dirk Drasdo, INRIA, France,
Lorenzo Sala, INRIA, France &
Irene Vignon- Clementel, INRIA, France
 
 

The goal of this special session is to combine different perspectives on the creation of a biological digital twin, in particular in the context of the liver.
The processes of interest involve biological tissue reorganization, disease progression, flow and transport dynamics at various scales: from the molecular and cellular scale to the whole organ and body level. The complexity of this organ calls for an interdisciplinary effort to design advanced computational models to analyze the different aspects with the aim of targeting specific biomedical applications. Modelling methods can cover physics-driven or data-driven mathematical models for molecular signalling, hemodynamics models, agent-based models for individual cells, and compartmental models for drug metabolization. Recent advances in parameter estimation and sensitivity analysis strategies are welcome towards the connection from clinical data to patient-specific digital twins.

Digital twins for personalised medicine
Chairs: Julie Choisne, University of Auckland, New Zealand
 
 

Digital twins can be used to model a patient’s physiological characteristics to deliver personalised medicine. It is an ambitious paradigm looking at the human in an end-to-end approach, across all scales, unifying the virtual physiological human and the daily health behaviour models and technologies.

 

Engineering innovation in women’s health

Chair: Kristin M. Myers, Columbia University, New York USA
Steven David Abramowitch, University of Pittsburgh USA

Engineers are vital to bringing innovative solutions to complex and challenging problems. For many societal and historical reasons, many of the problems related to Women’s health have gone largely ignored and are ripe for novel engineering solutions to improve the care of women. In this session, Engineering Innovation in Women’s Health, we will focus on the computational and image analysis techniques advancing our understanding of these problems and moving us toward viable solutions. It has only been recently that scientific research has begun to embrace the importance of sex-specific differences. While these efforts are leading to improvements in patient care for women, they are also resulting in broader impacts that extend to the development of technologies that can improve the lives of everyone. For example, in pregnancy and delivery, biomechanical signals, combined with hormonal signals, trigger tissue remodeling, contractility and rupture – all mechanics-based variables engineers can quantify and possibly exploit for diagnoses and therapy purposes (e.g., tissue engineering). The keynote lecture will feature Dr. Michael House, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, talking about Treatment for Cervical Insufficiency in Pregnancy: Therapeutic Insights Using Computational Mechanics and will feature invited speakers who are bringing engineering innovation to women’s health.

Exploring brain mechanics

Chairs: Silvia Budday, Paul Steinmann & Kristian Franze, Friedrich-Alexander Universitat, Germany

Despite decades of intense research, many fundamental processes in the brain remain not fully understood. Only recently, the important contribution of mechanical stimuli has been discovered. This session will cover novel experimental and modeling approaches that explore brain mechanics for a better understanding of brain function and dysfunction to eventually advance the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders.

Head and neck biomechanics for computer assisted medical interventions

Chairs: Yohan Payan, CNRS & Univ. Grenoble Alpes, France
Georges Bettega, Annecy Genevois Hospital, France

Patient-specific 3D biomechanical models of human bone and soft tissues are nowadays used to assist medical interventions. In the case of cranio-maxillofacial treatments, thanks to the most recent medical imaging techniques, geometries of the skull, maxilla, tongue, pharynx, larynx, face and neck tissues can be reconstructed and used to design 3D biomechanical models. This session will focus on such models with particular emphasis on the way they can be useful to assist the surgeon, in a pre- or intra-operative way.

How biomechanical models can improve dental clinics?

Chairs : Aurélie Benoit, Université Paris Cité, France 
Ludger Keilig, University of Bonn, Germany

This session is dedicated to biomechanical investigations related to dental research and will focus on the transfer of fundamental research into clinical practice in different fields including restorative dentistry, dental implants and orthodontics. The session will encompass the following topics: hard and soft tissue mechanics; mechanical behaviors of dental materials, including alloys, polymers, composites and ceramics; computer methods on dental biomechanics; imaging and image processing for dental research and clinical practice.

Mechanistic multiphase modeling of soft tissues: in vitro/in vivo/in silico approaches toward clinical applications

Chairs:
Giuseppe Sciumè, University of Bordeaux, France
Stéphane Urcun, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg

A mechanistic modeling approach which aims at predicting the behavior of a biological soft tissue must take into account its architecture, i.e. its hierarchical structure where different constituents (cells, extracellular matrix, interstitial fluid, blood, etc.) interact biologically and physically. The degree of complexity and the scales of the computational model will be determined both by the phenomena of interest and by the availability of experimental results. 

Within the realm of biophysical mechanistic approaches, multiphase models founded on porous media mechanics and on the theory of mixtures have emerged as powerful tools. They consider the hierarchical organization of living tissues and their behavior in physiological and pathological contexts (e.g. multiphase modeling in tissue ulceration mechanics, physical oncology, drug delivery, biomedical engineering, vertebral disc mechanics, meniscus, etc.).

The challenges and limitations associated with multiphase modeling approaches in biomechanics constitute the topic of this session. Considering the multidisciplinary context, this session also aims at facilitate the interaction between experimentalists, modelers and clinicians working on this research field.

Microscale observations and microscale modelling in cancer

Chairs: Qiyao Peng, Leiden University, The Netherlands;
Fred Vermolen, Hasselt University, Belgium

Cancers form a set of degenerative diseases that are caused by cell mutations and uncontrolled proliferation. Cancers affect lots of people worldwide. Often combinations of genetic compositions and lifestyle may enhance or inhibit the development of cancer. In order to mitigate or even cure cancer, practitioners choose appropriate therapies from a set of classical strategies. In order to improve and optimize therapy, quantitative knowledge is indispensable. This minisymposium links computer simulations to (clinical) observations.

Modelling and simulation of musculoskeletal mechanobiology

Chairs: Areti Papastavrou, The Technical University of Nuremberg, Germany
Peter Pivonka, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Physiological loading plays an essential role in the growth, development and maintenance of the human musculoskeletal system. This session is dedicated to both the different musculoskeletal tissues, such as bone, muscle, cartilage and tendon, and the loading scenarios across the different length scales, ranging from muscle forces to mechanobiological cell feedback. To explore the relationships, insights gained through various biomedical technologies such as medical imaging and motion capture techniques are beneficial and are integrated into mathematical modelling and simulation. 

Multi-scale mechanics and mechanobiology for tomorrow’s cardiovascular medicine
 

Chairs: Stephane Avril, MINES Saint-Étienne, France
Daniela Valdez-Jasso, University of California, USA
Nele Famaey, KU Leuven, Belgium

Despite the tremendous progress of mechanobiology, there is a still pressing need to decipher how the mechanical microenvironment interacts dynamically with cellular function in vivo or in tissue constructs, and how this interacts with the mechanics of the tissue at the scale of arteries. Multi-scale computational models from the scale of molecular events to the organ level are useful tools to address the complexity and the multifactorial nature of these effects and they provide a unique opportunity to better understand and tackle cardiovascular disorders. This mini-symposium aims to present and discuss the latest research efforts in cardiovascular modelling through the scales and the challenges for tomorrow’s medicine, covering biology, microscopy imaging techniques (multiphoton microscopy, optical coherence tomography…), data- and knowledge-driven and biomechanical computational modelling.

Multiscale mechanobiology
 

Chairs: J. Mora-Macias, University of Huelva, Spain
J.A. Sanz-Herrera, University of Seville, Spain

The hierarchical nature of tissues and organs demands a multiscale statement of mechanobiological problems. Indeed, mechanobiology of organs/tissues can be better understood from mechanics of cells, and their interactions, at fundamental scales. This minisymposium is dedicated to present and discuss mechanobiological examples of application, from soft to hard tissues, that are established at different spatial and temporal scales. This will be an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and methods among researchers, to develop predictive and reliable multiscale models in mechanobiology.

Novel methods to advance diagnostic and treatment value of medical imaging for valvular disease and their intervention

Chairs: Pascal Leprince, Pitié Salpétrière Hospital France
Zahra K. Motamed, McMaster University, ON, Canada

The use of medical imaging has substantially increased over the past decade. The remarkable advances in medical imaging, have motivated the development of new tools that can augment the power of medical imaging to provide information beyond anatomy-based diagnosis for patients with valvular diseases. This session is about valvular diseases and their intervention and covers:

  • Advanced image processing for diagnosis, monitoring and prediction
  • Advanced signal processing for diagnosis, monitoring and prediction
  • Integration of medical imaging and computational modelling for intervention predictions
  • Personalization of treatment through image-based hypothesis testing
Prediction of hip strength from clinical data

Chairs: Philippe Zysset, University of Bern, Switzerland
Bert van Rietbergen, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

This session aims at presenting and discussing the current status and the future potential of computational methods to predict hip strength from clinical data. The topics include calibration of 2D and 3D images, image processing, statistical shape and intensity modelling, implementation of the finite element method including constitutive modelling and loading conditions, as well as standardisation of the entire process

Recent advances in 3D modeling, diagnosis and treatment of spinal deformities

Chairs: Saša Ćuković, ETH Zurich, Switzerland;
Luigi La Barbera, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

This session will focus on new methods and technologies applied to the investigation, diagnostics, monitoring and treatment of the human spine and its pathologies. Talks will address topics ranging from computational biomechanics of the spine to application of recent technologies for reliable prediction and 3D models that can lead to more precise diagnosis, non-invasive monitoring and patient-specific treatments. Statistical shape modeling, digitalization and new approaches in sagittal and coronal imbalance classification will be discussed, as often met in AIS and ASD patients.

Reproductive biomechanics: computational modelling of vaginal delivery and its complications

Chairs: Cédric Laurent , LEM 3 Université de Lorraine, France 
Pauline Lecomte, LaMcube, France

Vaginal delivery is associated with risks of soft tissue damage or rupture, having serious consequences on mother’s quality of life. Additionally, various devices may be used in the case of operative vaginal delivery, whose relevance and consequences are still needed to be addressed and compared. Experimental studies are limited by the difficulty of collecting clinical data, which may be overcome by using computational models: the challenges and limitations associated with the development of such simulations constitute the topic of this session, in view of predicting the effect of clinical practices on the risks associated with parturition.

Verification and validation of computational models

Chairs: Nele Famaey, KU Leuven, Belgium
Sam Evans, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
Heleen Fehervary, KU Leuven, Belgium

Verification and validation are critical if computational models are to be used to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of medical devices.  This session will cover all aspects of experimental, mathematical and computational verification and validation techniques, including in vitro and in vivo measurements, material properties and test methods as well as best practice and regulatory aspects.

Current challenges of in vivo subject-specific modelling of biological tissue

Chairs: Pierre-Yves Rohan, Institut de Biomécanique Humaine Georges Charpak Arts et Métiers ParisTech, France

Bethany Keenan, Cardiff University, United Kingdom

Human soft tissues are complex materials that can exhibit nonlinear, time dependent, inhomogeneous, and anisotropic behaviors. Biological tissues also grow, remodel, and adapt to external mechanical stimuli. The development and implementation of hybrid experimental – computational methods to characterize mechanical properties is a critical challenge for the whole community. The choice of appropriate constitutive laws, the personalization of the constitutive parameters and the boundary conditions to which the tissues are subjected to are important for investigating the underlying mechanisms that either drive normal physiology or contribute to the onset and development of diseases in soft tissues. The development of techniques that can be employed in clinical routine and which allow to discriminate between different subgroups is also paramount for clinical translation. This session aims to facilitate discussions around these challenges based most recent works dealing with constitutive modelling, personalization and their clinical applications.

Computational evaluation of orthopaedic devices 

Chair: Ruth Wilcox, University of Leeds, Great Britain

Computational approaches are increasingly being used to assess the effects of patient and surgical variables on the performance of orthopaedic devices, both to reduce time to market during device design, and to inform patient stratification or surgical technique once in use. This session will cover the pipeline of computational methods that are employed, from the analysis of in vivo measurements, image processing and musculoskeletal modelling used to derive patient load and motion information, through to finite element assessment of the device performance.  

Mechanical characterization of muscle across length scales

Chairs: Pierre-Yves Rohan, Institut de Biomécanique Humaine Georges Charpak Arts et Métiers, France 

Benjamin Wheatley, Bucknell University, United States

The mechanical properties of skeletal muscle, from cellular to organ scales, govern function and are determined by both the tissue constituents and their complex structural arrangements. Characterizing and modelling the mechanical properties of skeletal muscles across different scales is paramount to understanding both the mechanical parameters that drive physiological behavior and also to provide insights into the development of skeletal muscle disorders. Mechanical characterization is also important for the calibration and validation of musculoskeletal simulations, such as Finite Element Models of skeletal muscle. These models have been used for decades to investigate muscle deformation, internal stress, or pressure distribution to benefit health and clinical practice 

3D Movement analysis and subject-specific musculoskeletal modeling

Chairs: Ayman Assi,Faculty of Medicine USJ Beirut, Lebanon / Arts et Métiers, Paris, France / ESMAC President

Hans Kainz, University of Vienna, Austria

While musculoskeletal modeling is widely used in research, particularly for sports and ergonomy applications, most of musculoskeletal disorders are still clinically assessed by physical examination and static X-rays. Recent advances in orthopedic research have shown the necessity to include both postural and functional analysis to the conventional methods of assessment. Thus, subject-specific musculoskeletal modeling, combined with 3D postural and movement analysis, become essential to be developed and validated in order to be integrated in the daily clinical settings. This special session will include recent advances in 3D movement analysis and subject-specific musculoskeletal modeling. 

This session is organized jointly with ESMAC, the European Society for Movement analysis in Adults and Children. 

Biomechanics of Cardiovascular System: Modelling, Simulation and Imaging

Chairs: Simona Celi, Fondazione Toscana G. Monasterio, Italy

Lorenza Petrini, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

 

In recent years, computational models are increasingly used to simulate several pathologies as well as procedures at patient specific level. In this context, many tools from both hemodynamic and structural points of view have been developed starting from clinical data.  

This topic aims to present the latest advances in the fluid dynamics, electromechanics and structural behavior of the cardiovascular system and in the mechanics of implantable cardiovascular devices, merging numerical simulations with the most advanced imaging techniques. Methods specifically developed to address clinical questions are of particular interest.

Necessity and importance of high-performance computing to address the scalability issue of biomedical-related computational studies

Chairs: Mojtaba Barzegari and Liesbet Geris, Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

The use of computational modelling in medical-related studies has risen exponentially in recent years, and more reliable developed models are being released each year for various sub-fields of this domain. Several hurdles exist to accelerate the uptake of said models into clinical practice. Currently, much effort is put into establishing model credibility, through verification and validation, and regulatory context of the simulation predictions. Another hurdle, having received less attention thus far, is that of scalability of the developed codes and models to benefit from rapidly growing computing power and advancements in hardware resources. As demonstrated by a few international biomedical computational modelling and simulation-oriented initiatives like CompBioMed, similar to other fields, having scalable models that use the available computing resources more efficiently allows constructing of more comprehensive models that capture more realistic phenomena, leading to more accurate simulations and predictions. Taking advantage of high-performance computing (HPC) techniques can help the field to move towards more reliable and accurate computational models for personalized medicine.

Numerical models of mechanobiology

Chairs: Ulrich Simon, Scientific Computing Centre, University of Ulm, Germany

Numerical Models describing biological processes depending on mechanical signals are increasingly used in research. Some models are trying to describe the complex time dependent coupling of such biological processes with the non-constant behavior of smart or degradable implants. Some other models might even be close to jump to a clinical usage.

This special session will focus on recent developments in the simulation of fracture healing at tissue level.  It covers all kinds of time dependent reactions such as healing, remodeling, maturation, ingrowth, degradation, and differentiation of biological tissues and involved implant materials.

Optimal control of human movement

Chairs: Benjamin Michaud and Mickael Begon, École de Kinésiologie et des Sciences de l’Activité Physique (ÉKSAP), Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Canada

As a result of the development of the computing power of computers and to the release of efficient optimization software, optimal control has recently gained in popularity in many research fields. In the field of biomechanics, thanks to its versatility, optimal control was successfully used in gait analysis, orthotics and prosthetics design, sport, and even performing arts. It is a powerful tool used to synthesize human movements, to predict innovative techniques, to track recorded motion, and so on. This special session will cover the most recent advances in optimal control in biomechanics, from the stand point of software development to clinical applications.

Tools for quantifying cell mechanics

Chairs: Hans Van Oosterwyck and Mar Condor, University of Leuven, Belgium

The importance of cell mechanics has long been recognized for cell fate and function. However, the analysis of how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces has been limited by the availability of techniques that can measure these forces in living cells while simultaneously measuring changes in cell and molecular activity. To confront this challenge new engineering methods combined with computational models have been developed in the last years to measure and manipulate the mechanical properties of cells as well as their internal cytoskeletal and nucleus.
In this session we will provide a space to present and discuss the latest advancements in the development of new tools for quantifying cell mechanics, including some of the most relevant ones such as traction force microscopy techniques. 

When biomechanics meets medical imaging for cardiac assessment

Organised by Société de Biomécanique

Chairs: Valérie Deplano, IRPHE, Marseille, France; Damien Garcia, CREATIS, Lyon, France

Biomechanics and medical imaging can go hand in hand to help the clinician make a more accurate diagnosis. A brief overview will be given on recent methodologies related to the evaluation of cardiac function. Beyond a simple visual tool, it will be exemplified how medical imaging can also be a biomechanical instrument.

Application of machine learning in modeling organs and tissues
Chair: Michael Sacks, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Applications of numerical modelling in medical device design and development
Chair: Andrew Hopkins, Zimmer Biomet, Switzerland
Augmented/virtual reality for clinical intervention
Chair: Eduardo Soudah, International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering, Spain
Cardiac modelling
Chair: Michael S. Sacks, The University of Texas at Austin, USA
 
 
Cerebral flow (blood flow, interstitial flow, cerebrospinal flow, computation and imaging)

Chair: Shigeo Wada, Osaka University, Japan

Computational models in women’s health

Chair: Kristin Meyers, Columbia University, USA


Computer methods for epidemic management

Chair: Paolo Di Giamberardino
, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy; Daniela Iacoviello, Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, Italy
Image-based patient-specific modelling

Chair: Richard Lopata, Eidhoven University of Technology, The Netherland

Image processing toward more realistic patient-specific biomechanical modelling and device design

Chair: Joao Tavares, University of Porto, Portugal

Inteligent rehabilitation technologies

Chairs: Fong-Chin Su, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan; Hirokazu Kato, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Japan

Modelling heart valve function

Chair: Michael S. Sacks, The University of Texas at Austin, USA