The field soft tissue biomechanics focuses on the mechanics of soft biological tissues and biomedical materials and structures. It is the newest research field within the Technical Focus Biomechanical Engineering and is currently under development.

Methodologies

• Multi-scale experiments for mechanical characterization of microstructure-based materials (biological tissues, textiles, etc.)
• Experimental continuum mechanics for the evaluation and analysis of local deformations using digital image correlation (DIC)
• Computational modeling for structural analyses at different length scales.

Objectives

• Derive criteria for the evaluation of the mechanical biocompatibility of biomedical materials and structures
• Explore the mechanobiology of biomedical materials and structures, i.e. the interplay between mechanics and cell behavior
• Develop standardized protocols for the mechanical evaluation of soft biomedical materials (implant materials, scaffolds for tissue engineering, etc.)

Projects