Microstructure design and analysis of bio-degradable bone scaffolds
The subject of bio-degradable bone scaffolds has lately become a prominent field in bio-engineering involving in it many different disciplines. One problem in the design process is analysis and assessment of the scaffolds’ mechanical strength. Moreover, the scaffold’s strength must be calculated over time as it degrades while living bone cells grow upon it. This geometrical change of shape along with the non-trivial structure makes calculation of structural integrity an intricate task.
A different yet nonetheless important problem is the estimation of tissue growth upon the scaffold. Cell growth is influenced by many different factors. Namely stress, scaffold architecture, substrate geometry and flow regime, thus evaluation of cell growth imposes a complicated problem as well.
My research aims to confront these two problems by use and development of CAD and FEA tools. Solving these physical problems will be later used to optimize the scaffold geometry to achieve better regenerative qualities in bone scaffolds. Such optimization involving material and biological constraints has yet to be developed and this research’s goal is to implement these together.
