Integrative Biomechanics

Integrative biomechanics addresses fundamental clinical problems both at the tissue level and at the organ level using knowledge and methods in the biomechanical field at multiple scales. The pillar applications range from the development of technologies for applications in clinic to the creation of knowledge of the biological processes.

Cardiovascular Engineering

The aim of this research activity is the integration of medical imaging and computational/experimental modeling to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

This program can be further broken down along three lines:

  • image-based hemodynamics modeling, which exploits medical imaging data to construct patient-specific models to elucidate the role of hemodynamic forces/structures in the origin, development and progression of cardiovascular diseases;
  • patient-specific prediction of the outcome of therapeutic interventions;
  • design and optimization of implants and devices, their delivery systems and the related procedure through realistic emulators for endovascular training.

Prostheses, Implants, Systems for Fracture Synthesis and Computer Aided Surgery

The aim of this research activity is the integration of personalized biomechanical analysis in the prosthesis and implant design, not only to improve the device performances but also to guide therapies for bone chronic conditions, such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, and to improve the computer-aided surgical planning.

This program can be further broken down along three lines:

  • experimental assessment of prostheses/implant performances;
  • computational modeling of systems for fracture synthesis to optimize implant designs and surgical techniques in a virtual framework;
  • patient-specific evaluation of fracture synthesis outcomes.

Biological Structure Mechanics

The mechanical behavior of biological materials is fundamental for their function, and this holds true not only for load bearing biological structures, such as bone and its synthetic substitutes, but also for soft-tissues. It is therefore important to study their mechanical behavior (1) to determine biological tissues basic mechanical properties, useful as gold standard parameters for engineered substitutes design, and, (2) to derive data for advanced constitutive modeling of those materials.

In this framework, our activities are focused on the multi-axial and multi-scale (from micro to macro) mechanical characterization of soft biomaterials and soft biological tissues (e.g. dermis, pericardium, lungs…).