X-ray physics-based CT-to-composition conversion applied to a tissue engineering scaffold, enabling multiscale simulation of its elastic behavior

Publication date: Available online 5 December 2017Source: Materials Science and Engineering: CAuthor(s): Karol Szlazak, Viktoria Vass, Patricia Hasslinger, Jakub Jaroszewicz, Alexander Dejaco, Joanna Idaszek, Stefan Scheiner, Christian Hellmich, Wojciech SwieszkowskiAbstractNowadays, the assessment of the mechanical competence of tissue engineering scaffolds based on computer simulations is a well-accepted technology. Typically, such simulations are performed by means of the Finite Element (FE) method, with the underlying structural model being created based on micro-computed tomography (microCT). Here, this analysis modality is applied to a new, ternary composite, consisting of PHBV, i.e. poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate), PLGA, i.e. poly(lactic-co-glycolide), as well as of TCP, i.e. tricalcium phosphate hydrate. The studied scaffold structure is made up by fibers of this new composite material, manufactured by means of the rapid prototyping method. The data collected from microCT is utilized for adequately defining the mechanical properties of the FE model. In particular, the three-dimensional field of grey values is interpreted in terms of the underlying field of attenuation coefficients, taking into account the photon energy employed in microCT imaging, eventually allowing for calculation of the three-dimensionally distributed, voxel-specific composition of the studied material. For the sake of keeping the FE simulations as efficient as possible, groups of voxe...
Source: Materials Science and Engineering: C - Category: Materials Science Source Type: research