Special sessions

Chairs:
Luigi La Barbera, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Mark Driscoll, McGill University, Montréal, Canada,
Dennis E. Anderson, Harvard Medical School, USA & Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, USA

Musculoskeletal spine models are valuable tools to assess spine biomechanics for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in healthy and diseased conditions, as well as for pre-operative surgical planning & training. Various original modelling frameworks for a variety of contexts of use have been proposed, but validation is still limited and direct comparison is difficult. Translation to clinical and surgical practice remains limited. The special session brings together experts to discuss the latest trends on spine modelling and their translation to real practice. A special focus is dedicated on verification, validation and uncertainty quantification to establish models’ credibility.

Chairs:
Guillermo Lorenzo, Universidade da Coruña, Spain,
Amin Alibakhshi, Universidade da Coruña, Spain

This minisymposium will provide a forum for recent advances in computational models and methods for tumor forecasting. Cancers are highly heterogeneous diseases that involve biological processes evolving across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Advances in biomarkers, imaging, and omics provide multimodal, multiscale data enabling the development of biophysical models that can predict tumor progression, guide clinical decision-making, and optimize personalized therapies. To this end, robust computational methods are needed for model calibration, patient-specific forecasting, treatment optimization, uncertainty quantification, and model selection. Furthermore, integrating mechanistic modeling with AI offers a powerful framework for combining diverse data sources and improving predictive performance.

Chairs:
Davide Astori, Politecnico di Milano, Italy,
Jay Humphrey, Yale School of Medicine, UK

Cardiovascular biomechanics plays a role in understanding physiological and pathological mechanisms, supporting patient-specific pathological risk assessment, optimizing intervention timing, and planning surgical procedures. However, conventional engineering approaches often rely on computationally demanding simulations that require expertise and remain difficult to integrate into clinical workflows. This Special Session will showcase cutting-edge artificial intelligence methods designed to overcome these limitations. Contributions may include surrogate models, geometric deep learning, physics-informed learning, automated image-based pipelines, and hybrid AI–mechanistic approaches. The session will highlight methodological advances, clinical translation, validation strategies, interpretability, and the potential of AI to enable fast, reliable cardiovascular decision support.

Chairs:
Luca Mariani, Politecnico di Milano, Italy,
Lucas H. Timmins, Texas A&M University, USA

Coronary artery disease remains a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality worldwide. Its clinical management requires patient-specific functional severity assessment; however, current diagnostic pathways remain suboptimal often relying on invasive or time-consuming procedures, while anatomy alone does not capture the interplay among coronary hemodynamic, vessel-wall mechanics, plaque biology, remodelling, and microvascular function. This Special Session will showcase innovative computational and AI-based approaches to extract quantitative biomarkers from clinal imaging, including indices not directly measurable in practice, to advance faster, precise clinical decision support for coronary care. Topics include patient-specific and multiscale modelling, CFD, fluid-structure interaction, plaque progression, thrombosis, stent analysis and response, longitudinal prediction, and artificial intelligence.

Chairs:
Charlotte Debbaut, Ghent University, Belgium,
Alberto Alilseda, University of Washington, USA,
Jessie Duquesne, Ghent University, Belgium

Neurovascular pathologies such as intracranial aneurysms, cerebral arteriovenous malformations, and ischemic stroke present significant challenges for diagnosis and treatment planning. This special session will showcase recent advances in biofluid mechanics to improve our understanding of cerebrovascular pathophysiology and therapeutic interventions, using computational and/or experimental approaches. 

As such, patient-specific models can provide crucial insights into local hemodynamical behaviour and transport phenomena.

Topics can include computational fluid dynamics (CFD), multiphase flow modelling (e.g. embolization or thrombectomy procedures), fluid–structure interaction, experimental approaches, AI-enhanced simulation frameworks, and virtual treatment planning. 

Contributions spanning fundamental, translational, and clinically oriented research in neurovascular biofluid mechanics are strongly encouraged.

Chairs:
Joris Degroote, Ghent University, Belgium,
Patrick Segers, Ghent University, Belgium

Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) in biomechanics occurs between blood, cerebrospinal fluid, air … and the surrounding tissue. Its simulation is challenging due to often large motion and deformation, possible contact, complex material behaviour and the appearance of rupture or tears. Furthermore, the boundary conditions on both the fluid side and structure side are often non-trivial and there is uncertainty on the parameters which can change over long time scales compared to the fast dynamics. Hence, there is a wide variety in approaches and this session aims to bring them together to enhance learning in the community.

Chairs:
Jorge Aramburu, University of Navarra, Spain,
Charlotte Debbaut, Ghent University, Belgium,
Erik Groot Jebbink, University of Twente, Netherlands

Transarterial radioembolization techniques have become important treatment options for liver cancer, yet patient-specific treatment planning and outcome prediction remain challenging. This special session will bring together experts in computational modelling, experimental research, medical imaging, and clinical translation to discuss recent advances in understanding hepatic blood flow, microsphere transport, dose distribution, and treatment optimization. Topics can include in silico modelling, image-based simulations, digital twins, experimental techniques, and clinical applications. By fostering interdisciplinary exchange (between engineers, clinicians and other disciplines), this session aims to assist in advancing the development of more effective, personalized, and predictive embolization therapies for liver cancer. The session is also open to other transcatheter endovascular treatments, utilizing modelling approaches similar to those used for transarterial radioembolization.

Chairs:
André Castro, Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal & Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica, Portugal,
Paulo Fernandes, Instituto Superior Técnico & Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica, Portugal,
Juan Mora, Universidad de Huelva, Spain,
Esther Reina, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain,
Pasquale Vena, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Computational design, modelling and simulation are essential tools in implant development, at multiple length scales. Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary area and has significant potential in understanding and diagnosing pathologies, as well as in improving their treatments.

A multidisciplinary and multi-scale analysis of the design of tissue engineering solutions is essential to understand how cellular response can change macro response and tissue adaptation, influenced by the structure of the implant or tissue construct. In fact, biological behaviour is highly dynamic and tissue adaptation and healing are associated with cell response to several biomechanical and biochemical stimuli, including design features.

This special session on computational methods for design in tissue engineering is intended to be a platform for discussion on novel solutions for uprising clinical challenges. Therefore, multi-scale problems with clinical impact will be discussed and highly interesting presentations from different fields in tissue engineering solutions are anticipated.

Chairs:
Philippe Zysset, University of Bern, ARTORG Centre for Biomedical Research, Switzerland,
Anna Gustafsson, Lund University, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Sweden 

Clinical assessment of fracture risk and implant stability requires accurate FE methods to simulate the mechanical behaviour of bone and bone-implant systems. While morphology-elastic and yield property relationships of adult human bone are increasingly well characterised, quantitative prediction of the semi-brittle, post-yield behaviour remains challenging. Yielding of bone relates to the nucleation, accumulation and coalescence of diffuse damage at the nanoscale into linear microcracks that can propagate in the microstructure.

The aim of this session is to gain insight into the current computational models available to understand the whole process of damage nucleation, strain localisation and crack propagation.

Chairs:
Irene Vignon-Clementel, SIMBIOTX team – Inria Saclay Ile-de-France, France,
Friederike Schäfer, SIMBIOTX team – Inria Saclay Ile-de-France, France

The human body functions as an integrated system, where organs continuously influence one another through mechanical, physiological, and biochemical coupling. This special session invites contributions on multiscale and computational modeling approaches that capture these inter-organ interactions, spanning cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, digestive, and neural systems, among others. Contributions employing a range of methods are welcome, including mathemateical and mechanistic models, finite element analysis, multiphysics and multiscale simulation, as well as data-driven and machine learning techniques. We aim to bring together researchers developing integrative computational frameworks that move beyond single-organ modeling toward whole-body, physiologically coupled simulations.

Chairs:
Noelia Grande Gutiérrez, Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, USA,
Kristin Myers, Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, USA,
Antoine Jérusalem, Mechanical Engineering, Oxford University

This special session will explore the latest advances in computational and experimental biomechanics of pregnancy and labor, including the development and application of solid and fluid mechanics models and surrogates, challenges in clinical translation, and verification and validation using experimental and clinical data, and machine learning. Topics include computational modeling of the uterus, cervix, placenta, fetal membranes, head and/or body, and pelvic floor; constitutive modeling, growth and remodeling, mechanobiology, and tissue adaptation throughout gestation; maternal and fetal hemodynamics, placental blood flow, and transport phenomena; fluid–structure interaction and multiphysics models of the uteroplacental system; image-based and patient-specific simulations; multiscale modeling of pregnancy and childbirth; verification and validation using experimental, imaging, and clinical data; and mechanistic and machine learning computational approaches to improve the understanding, prediction, diagnosis, and treatment of pregnancy and labor complications and injuries, including preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, placental dysfunction, preterm birth, maternal tearing, and fetal injuries during labor.

Chairs:
Thomas Tarnaud, Ghent University, Netherlands,
Emmeric Tanghe, Ghent University, Netherlands

Focused ultrasound (FUS) has gained attention in the last two decades, due to its capability to modulate neuronal activity non-invasively and with high spatial resolution. However, the underlying mechanisms of FUS are not yet well understood. 

Here, computational modelling is valuable to predict the implications of proposed tentative underlying mechanisms, enabling experimental validation. Furthermore, computational models can guide neural engineering studies, aiming to optimize the ultrasound transducer and insonication protocol.   

In this session, FUS models are presented, including both mechanical models, simulating the harmonic pressure, radiation force, tissue displacement and acoustic streaming distribution, and computational neuroscience models, aiming to predict the resulting neuronal response.  

Chairs:
Benjamin Wheatley, Bucknell University, USA,
Pierre-Yves Rohan, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, France

Computational models are most robust and impactful when informed, calibrated, and validated using experimental data. Yet integrating experimental and computational approaches remains a technical and resource challenge in biomechanics. This integration is especially important in skeletal muscle mechanics because of the tissue’s complex, hierarchical structure, nonlinear behaviour, and coupling between form and function. This session will highlight established and emerging approaches that bridge experimental and computational studies of skeletal muscle, including imaging-informed simulations, in vitro and in vivo experimentation, multiscale and multiphysics modelling, constitutive characterisation, parameter identification, and validation. It will identify challenges and opportunities for advancing predictive muscle models.

Chairs:
Alessandra Aldier, Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater – Studiorum University of Bologna, Italy,
Cristina Curreli,  Medical Technology Laboratory, Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy,
Antonino Amedeo La Mattina, Medical Technology Laboratory, Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy

Computational models are increasingly used to support decision-making in healthcare and to provide evidence of the safety and efficacy of medical products. Ensuring the credibility of these models is essential for their safe, reliable, and effective use in research, industry, and clinical practice. This special session will focus on methodologies, frameworks, and case studies related to model verification, validation, uncertainty quantification, and credibility assessment. Contributions addressing a broad range of applications are welcome, including orthopaedics, cardiovascular disease, oncology, and neurology, as well as diverse modelling approaches, ranging from data-driven and AI-based models to physics-based and multiscale simulations.

Chairs:
Giulia Luraghi, Politecnico di Milano, Italy, 
Giorgia Bosi, University College London, UK,
Benedetta Grossi, Humanitas University, Italy

This special session will focus on the critical challenges of credibility assessment, verification, and validation (V&V) for digital twins in biomechanics and biomedical engineering. As digital twin technologies become increasingly central to clinical decision-making and device development, ensuring their reliability, robustness, and regulatory acceptance is essential. The session will bring together experts to discuss methodological frameworks, uncertainty quantification, data assimilation, and standards for model fidelity. Contributions will highlight applications across scales, from organ-level simulations to patient-specific models, fostering dialogue on best practices and future directions to enhance trust and translational impact of digital twins in healthcare.

Chairs:
Michael Roland, Applied Mechanics, Saarland University, Germany,
Annchristin Andres, Applied Mechanics, Saarland University, Germany

Digital twins are emerging as a transformative framework in orthopaedic trauma surgery by integrating patient-specific imaging, biomechanical modelling, motion analysis, clinical data, and longitudinal monitoring. This special session will present advances spanning virtual surgical planning, implant and fixation assessment, fracture-healing simulation, rehabilitation guidance, and in-silico clinical trials. Particular emphasis will be placed on validated computational models, clinically meaningful biomarkers, uncertainty quantification, and translation into decision-support tools. By bringing together engineers, clinicians, and computer scientists, the session aims to identify shared methodological standards, validation strategies, and pathways toward trustworthy, patient-specific digital twins for routine trauma care, research, and applications.

Chairs:
Hendrik Schmidt, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Germany,
Aboulfazl (Saeed) Shirazi-Adl, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, Canada

Computational models have become indispensable in understanding biomechanics, supporting basic research, clinical decision-making, implant development, and personalized medicine. They range from musculoskeletal (MS) and finite element (FE) models to coupled MS–FE frameworks, providing unique insights across different scales. As models continue to increase in complexity, so does the need to ensure their credibility by rigorous development, verification, validation, uncertainty quantification, sensitivity analysis, and experimental evaluation. This session focuses on the development, verification, validation, and critical assessment of models towards more advanced computational models that are robust, evidence-based, and suitable for reliable translation into research, clinical practice, and engineering applications.

Chairs:
Solveig Fadness, NTNU, Norway,
Annette Caenen, Ghent University and KU Leuven, Belgium

This session highlights recent advances in ultrasound methods for characterizing flow and microvascular perfusion. Developments in flow imaging provide quantitative markers of blood-flow patterns, such as vortex dynamics in the ventricle, while perfusion-oriented techniques offer insight into microvasculature supply. Emerging super-resolution ultrasound methods extend these capabilities by enabling detailed visualization of the microvasculature and its flow pathways.

Chiars:
Behrooz Fereidoonnezhad, TU Delft, Netherlands,
Thomas Christian Gasser, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden,
Ali Akyildiz, TU Delft, Netherlands

Fracture and failure of soft biological tissues are central to traumatic injury, disease progression, surgical intervention and medical-device performance. Predicting crack initiation and propagation remains challenging because of the nonlinear, anisotropic, heterogeneous and viscoelastic response of these tissues under large deformation.

This special session will bring together researchers developing experimental, theoretical and computational approaches to soft-tissue damage and fracture. Topics will include phase-field, cohesive-zone and extended finite element methods, constitutive modelling of tissue failure, multiscale and microstructure-informed formulations, experimental characterisation and validation, data-driven approaches, uncertainty quantification and patient-specific modelling. Applications may include cardiovascular tissues, atherosclerotic plaques, thrombi, skin, tendons and ligaments, brain tissue, engineered tissues and other biological or bio-inspired soft materials. Particular emphasis will be placed on linking experimentally observed failure mechanisms with predictive computational models and addressing barriers to clinical and biomedical translation.

The session will promote scientific exchange between experimentalists and computational researchers, while providing a platform for both established investigators and early-career scientists to discuss emerging directions in soft-tissue fracture modelling.

Chairs:
Alexandra Tits, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany,
Davide Ruffoni, University of Liège, Belgium,
Richard Weinkamer, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Germany

This special session will explore computational strategies to characterize the architecture and functional role of the osteocyte lacunocanalicular network (LCN), a dense porous system involved in transport, signalling, mineralization, and mechanosensing in bone. Contributions will address image-based workflows applied to confocal laser scanning microscopy and synchrotron radiation phase-contrast nano-CT datasets, including segmentation, network analysis, morphometry, and fluid-flow or mechanobiological modelling. Particular emphasis will be placed on the interplay between LCN architecture and transport properties, and on how these features vary with anatomical location, tissue age, disease, and local mechanical environment. The symposium aims to connect together experts in advanced imaging, quantitative computation, and bone biology.

Chairs:
Kirk McGilvray, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA,
Ben Wheatly, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

This special session will explore emerging computational strategies that connect musculoskeletal mechanics across scales, from cellular micromechanics and tissue structure–function relationships to whole-joint motion and patient-specific function. We invite work integrating finite element and musculoskeletal modeling, mechanobiology, experimental validation, imaging, optimization, machine learning, and digital twins to predict injury, healing, adaptation, and treatment response. Particular emphasis will be placed on mechanically guided regenerative medicine, gradient and multi-tissue scaffold design, muscle–tendon–bone interactions, surgical planning, and model-informed rehabilitation. The session will foster discussion on translating complex models into robust, interpretable, and clinically actionable tools for orthopaedic repair, functional recovery, and improved outcomes.

Chairs:
Brecht Lenaerts, KU Leuven, Belgium

Patient-specific computational approaches are transforming cranio-maxillofacial care, enabling personalized diagnosis, treatment planning, device design, and outcome prediction. This special session aims to bring together researchers, engineers, and clinicians working at the interface of biomechanics and clinical practice. Contributions may address imaging, computational modelling, virtual surgical planning, patient-specific devices, additive manufacturing, treatment optimization, validation, and clinical implementation. By highlighting translational research across craniofacial applications, this session seeks to accelerate the integration of patient-specific computational technologies into routine clinical decision-making and personalized patient care.

Chairs:
Francesca Berti, Politecnico di Milano, Italy,
Benigno Marco Fanni, BioCardioLab – FTGM, Italy

This symposium will focus on multiscale computational modeling of congenital disorders across developmental stages, from fetal life onward. The symposium aims to bring together researchers and clinicians working on patient-specific and translational approaches to support diagnosis, treatment planning, and surgical or interventional strategies. Applications include, but are not limited to, congenital heart diseases, neural tube defects, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, airway and pulmonary defects. Contributions spanning different modeling scales and methodologies, from reduced-order models to high-fidelity structural, computational fluid dynamics, and fluid–structure interaction simulations, are welcome.

Chairs:
Pierfrancesco Siena, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Italy,
Gianluigi Rozza, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Italy

High-fidelity Full Order Models (FOMs) are essential to accurately capture the complex nature of physiological systems. However, their high computational cost often hinders their application in scenarios requiring real-time evaluations, extensive parameter exploration, or uncertainty quantification, such as patient-specific clinical decision support and medical device design.

To address these challenges, Reduced Order Models (ROMs) and, more in general, surrogate models based on physics-informed or data-driven techniques offer computationally efficient alternatives, enabling rapid predictions without sacrificing accuracy.

The aim of this minisymposium is to bring together researchers, engineers, and applied mathematicians working on high-fidelity numerical methods, ROMs and surrogate strategies for biomedical problems. We invite contributions focusing on both modeling developments and practical applications. By promoting collaboration between FOM and ROM developers, this session aims to highlight current state-of-the-art methodologies, benchmark challenges, and outline future directions for computationally efficient biomedical engineering.

Chairs:
Hans Kainz, University of Vienna, Austria,
Ilse Jonkers, KU Leuven, Belgium

Mechanical loading plays a fundamental role in maintaining musculoskeletal health and driving biological adaptation. Gait retraining has emerged as a promising non-invasive intervention to modify joint loading, with applications ranging from injury prevention and rehabilitation to the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. This session brings together researchers investigating how changes in movement patterns influence joint mechanics and mechanobiological responses across multiple scales. Presentations will highlight advances in gait analysis, computational modelling, and experimental methods that improve our understanding of loadinduced adaptation and support the development of evidencebased gait retraining strategies to optimize musculoskeletal health.

Agnese Lucchetti, Cardiovascular Engineering, Applied Medical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Germany,
Tianai Wang, Cardiovascular Engineering, Applied Medical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Germany,
Xiao Yun Xu, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, UK,
Anna Ranno, Chair for Computational Analysis of Technical Systems, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Cardiovascular engineering increasingly relies on the integration of experimental and computational approaches to investigate coupled biological and physical processes, characterize disease mechanisms, predict patient-specific treatment outcomes, and inform clinical decision-making. 

Suggested topics in this session include, but are not limited to: 

• Hybrid, multiphysics, and multimodal cardiovascular modelling approaches integrating experimental, mechanistic, and/or data-driven methods across mechanics, haemodynamics, and biological processes; 
• Computational assessment of medical devices and treatment strategies; 
• Patient specific and population representative modelling and digital twins; 
• Validation and calibration of computational models using in vitro, in vivo, and clinical data; 
• Model interpretability, generalizability, and robustness for clinical translation.

Chairs:
Emmanuel Audenaert, Ghent University, Belgium,
Bhushan Borotikar, Symbiosis International University, India

Image-based weight-bearing biomechanics is transforming the assessment of bone and joint function by combining upright CT/MRI, biplanar radiography, dynamic imaging, 3D reconstruction, musculoskeletal modelling and finite-element analysis. This session will address how patient-specific anatomy under physiological loading reveals joint alignment, contact mechanics, tissue stress, instability and disease progression beyond conventional supine imaging. Focusing on hip, knee, foot and ankle, and spine applications, the session will highlight advances in acquisition, segmentation, statistical shape modelling, AI-assisted reconstruction, validation and surgical planning. The session will define opportunities for reproducible, image-based digital biomarkers of musculoskeletal function and disease progression.

Chairs:
Paul Van Liedekerke, Ghent University, Belgium,
José Manuel García Aznar, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain,
Andreas Buttenschoen, University of Massachusetts, USA,
Dirk Drasdo, Inria Saclay, France

Understanding cellular mechanics, mechanobiology and mechanotransduction is key to predicting cell differentiation, tissue morphogenesis, homeostasis and disease progression. This session will highlight recent advances in multicellular modelling of in vitro and in vivotissues, capturing mechanical interactions within hierarchically organised tissues, comprising cells, extracellular matrix and interstitial fluid.

We welcome contributions that target phenomena and systems, including:
• tumour growth
• organoids
• cell migration, vascularisation
• embryonic development.

We also welcome contributions on method and model development, such as agent-based models, continuum approaches and hybrid models.

Chairs:
Ali Akyildiz, TU Delft / ErasmusMC, Netherlands,
Michele Marino, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy

This special session focuses on cutting-edge computational and mathematical approaches to understand and model vascular diseases and adaptation. We welcome contributions that explore the biomechanical, biochemical, and mechanobiological mechanisms driving such as arterial stiffening, atherosclerosis, aneurysm development, vascular aging, and post-intervention remodeling. By integrating multi-scale, multi-physics, and data-driven methodologies, this session aims to bridge the gap between theoretical modeling and clinical translation, offering deeper insights into disease progression and patient-specific therapeutic interventions.

Chairs:
Pim Pullens, Ghent University, Belgium,
Merijn Calis, Ghent University, Belgium

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is increasingly used in biomechanics and biofluids research because it provides non-invasive, high-resolution visualization of anatomy, tissue function, and fluid motion. MRI enables assessment of tissue structures, tissue deformation, strain, and joint mechanics, helping researchers understand movement, injury, and disease. Advanced techniques such as MR elastography can quantify tissue stiffness and mechanical properties. In biofluids, phase-contrast MRI and four-dimensional flow MRI (4D Flow MRI) allow measurement and visualization of blood and cerebrospinal fluid dynamics. Free-running cardiac MRI further extends these capabilities by enabling continuous, motion-resolved imaging of the heart without the need for ECG triggering or breath-holding, providing comprehensive assessment of cardiac anatomy, function, and motion while improving patient comfort and scan robustness. These capabilities support investigations of tissue function, fluid transport, and patient-specific biomechanical modeling for diagnosis and treatment planning.

Chair:
Sarah Vandenbulcke, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

The mechanical behaviour of the brain is the result of complex interactions between solid tissue and fluids. Capturing these interactions is essential for developing accurate biomechanical models and improving applications such as magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for brain tissue characterization. 

This session aims to bring together researchers developing and applying computational and image-based methods to investigate fluid-solid interactions and incorporate their effects into brain models and imaging workflows. The focus will be on multiphysics modelling, imaging techniques (including MRE), and inversion methods that account for fluid-solid interactions in and around the brain.

Chairs:
Ione Ianniruberto, Politecnico di Milano, Italy,
Elena Di Martino, University of Calgary, ViTAA Medical, Canada

Aneurysmal and dissecting vascular diseases arise from complex interactions among vessel wall mechanics, blood flow, tissue remodeling, and patient-specific biological factors. Yet clinical management still relies largely on conventional anatomical criteria that incompletely capture individual risk. This Special Session will focus on the development, validation, and translation of next-generation biomarkers for diagnosis, risk stratification, and patient management. Contributions may include biomechanical, hemodynamic, imaging-derived, biological, genetic, and multimodal markers, with emphasis on clinical utility, prospective validation, integration into decision-making, regulatory pathways, including FDA and CE marking, and translation from academic research into deployable clinical products.

Chairs:
Anna Corti, Politecnico di Milano, Italy,
Claudio Chiastra, Politecnico di Milano, Italy,
Selene Pirola, TU Delft, Netherlands,
Diego Gallo, Politecnico di Torino, Italy,
Anna Ranno, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Multiscale cardiovascular digital twins are transforming the understanding of cardiovascular physiology, disease, and therapeutic interventions through advances in computational modelling and data science. This mini-symposium will bring together researchers developing physics-based, data-driven, and hybrid patient-specific multiscale models for cardiovascular applications, including models of pathology progression, intervention procedures and treatment response. Topics include advanced cardiovascular biomechanics, haemodynamics, electrophysiology, multiscale and multiphysics simulations, multi-level and image data assimilation, reduced-order modelling, VVUQ, and machine learning. The symposium aims to foster interdisciplinary discussions on robust, efficient, and trustworthy computational frameworks that accelerate the development, validation, and clinical translation of next-generation cardiovascular multiscale digital twins.

Chairs:
Mathias Peirlinck, TU Delft, Netherlands,
Beatrice Moscoloni, UGent and TU Delft, Netherlands

Sex differences influence anatomy, tissue properties, disease progression, treatment response, and medical-device performance, yet they remain insufficiently integrated into computational biomechanics and biomedical engineering. This session will bring together researchers developing sex-aware models, experiments, and digital twins across cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and soft-tissue biomechanics. Contributions may address sex-specific constitutive behavior, growth and remodeling, virtual cohorts, medical-device evaluation, clinical translation, uncertainty quantification, and the distinction between biological sex and related demographic or hormonal factors. The goal is to move beyond post-hoc subgroup analysis toward predictive computational frameworks that explicitly account for sex-dependent variability in biomedical engineering.

Chairs:
Frank Gijsen, TU Delft, Netherands,
Behrooz Fereidoonnezhad, TU Delft, Netherands,
Francesco Migliavacca, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy,
Wouter Huberts, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands,
Gabor Zavodszki, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

A thrombus consists of a fibrin network containing red blood cells and platelets. Thrombi from stroke patients exhibit a wide spectrum of compositions, ranging from fibrin networks with few red blood cells to those primarily composed of red blood cells. Platelet concentrations also vary greatly among thrombi. The mechanical properties of these thrombi are significantly influenced by the interactions among these three components. Depending on their composition, some of these thrombi are very soft and break down easily, while others are relatively stiff and can resist large deformations without failure. Insights into thrombus mechanics are essential for understanding how clots respond to mechanical forces during thrombectomy, and therefore should play an important role not only in device selection but also in device design.

Chairs:
Annette Caenen, Ghent University and KU Leuven, Belgium,
Richard Lopata, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands

This session highlights recent advances in ultrasound-based mechanical tissue characterization. Topics include elastography methods for tissue stiffness estimation, structural imaging approaches such as backscatter tensor imaging, and emerging ultrasound-based methods that not only extract richer biomechanical information but also offer a viable, non-destructive alternative to traditional mechanical testing.