SAINBIOSE INSERM U1059Soft Tissue Biomechanics

STB

Digital twins of mechano-biological interactions from cells to organs

Research axe

Soft Tissue Biomechanics

We aim to carry out fundamental investigations in the domain of mechanical identification of soft tissues and prostheses, with strong interactions with medical device industries and with clinicians. The biomechanics group is renowned internationally for its research aimed at improving the treatment of cardiovascular diseases by assisting physicians and surgeons with biomechanical numerical simulations. Recent research directions include: aneurysm wall mechanics using finite-element analyses, growth & remodelling simulations for real patients, data-driven model predictions, atrial fibrillation, brain drainage. We have established the first patient-specific computational models simulating the progression of aortopathies based on growth and remodelling theories. Using computational multi-scale models, we study the role played by vascular smooth muscle cells in the regulation of the elasticity of the aorta and the role played by these processes in aneurysms and dissections of the thoracic aorta. We are also interested by the micro-damage mechanisms leading to dissection, relying on digital modeling to precisely describe the mechanical conditions and the dissection initiation sequence, in connection with the mechanobiological properties of cells and extracellular matrix

Projects

Biomechanics of atrial cardiomyopathies: wall remodelling and hemodynamics to understand thrombus formation and stroke

Bacardyn

Description

Atrial cardiomyopathy has been defined as any electrical and/or mechanical dysfunction of the left atrium. This dysfunction can lead to Atrial Fibrillation (AF), which is responsible for a third of all ischemic strokes. However, atrial fibrillation is not the only left atrium-related cause of stroke. Indeed, changes in LA wall mechanics, caused by remodelling of the wall (fibrotic myocardium mostly), can result in thrombogenic blood flow patterns. Structural and electrical changes in the LA are interconnected and their effect on atrial flow patterns are not fully understood. This project aims to develop new clinical diagnosis tools to detect the biomechanical changes in the LA wall and the alterations of the intra-atrial flows to anticipate the risks of strokes. For this, this project with combine characterisation methods from both structural and fluid points of view. This multidisciplinary project will answer to the following four objectives:
– To develop a metric to quantify locally the degree of left atrium wall fibrosis in terms of mechanics and to understand its effect on the wall mechanical behaviour, based on the mechanical and biological characterisation of surgical biopsies
– To develop a methodology to measure left atrium mechanical properties in vivo for patients, from CRM images
– To create a mechanistic link between left atrium flow patterns and the risk of thrombus formation, based on the analysis of 4D MRI data
– To assess how much fibrosis impacts the risk of thrombus formation in the left atrium.
This project could lead to the development of new tools for the diagnostic of atrial cardiomyopathies, which would help the development of new treatment strategies.

Members

Project Leader : Dr. Fanette Chassagne

Researchers involved :

Pr. Stéphane Avril

Dr. Baptiste Pierrat

Dr. Pierre Croisille (Creatis)

Dr. Jean-Baptiste Guichard (Hospital Clinic, Barcelona)

Dr. Alberto Aliseda (UW, USA)

Lab scientists involved:

Nicolas Curt

Student involved :

Kundry Reibel