Coordination Project of the SPP2311

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Tim Ricken
• Subject Area: Applied Mechanics, Statics and Dynamics ; Mechanics
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 548948363

This is the central coordination project to support the second funding phase of the Priority Programme 2311 on "Robust Coupling of Continuum-biomechanical In Silico Models to Establish Active Biological System Models for Later Use in Clinical Applications -- Co- Design of Modelling, Numerics and Usability". The motivation for the PP results from the fact that although great progress has been made in biomechanics in recent times, the potential for medical applications has not yet been fully exploited. This is partly caused by the still insufficiently developed interfaces between modeling, numerics and clinical application. This problem will be adressed by the PP via an iterative co-design during biomechanical model development. The aim is to develop sustainable development processes in biomechanics with a blueprint character. The challenge we face, is the high complexity of active biological systems; therefore, multi-scale system models require close cooperation between medicine, engineering sciences, numerical mathematics (numerics) and computer science. In particular, the description of multi-scale system models requires innovative coupling strategies that incorporate state-of-the-art computer architectures, new and robust numerical methods, data structures and integration possibilities. In addition, the simulation results must be prepared in joint work with medical scientists for transfer to the clinic and for application with clinical questions. In the first funding period, pioneering successes have already been achieved in the development of coupled multi-scale models with robust coupling methods and strategies. Examples are holistic in silico models for the skeletal muscle, heart or liver. However, the connection to numerics and usability remains challenging. For example, which data for parameterization and individualization are also available in clinical practice, which numerical solution algorithms are stable and efficient enough to be accepted and used error-free by clinical users, or how can the methods already developed be transferred to other application scenarios? We aim to address questions like these in the second funding period. The focus of this Priority Programme is on models of active biological systems in the human organism, to advance methods that can later be integrated within a clinical environment, and to define the interfaces between models and clinical application. However, the PP does not aim to establish the transfer of the models into the clinic via clinical trials. In particular, the programme will concentrate on coupling strategies for "active" biological systems. The definition of "active" refers to systems that experience a change of state due to physical, chemical, and/or biological phenomena or stimuli. Examples are metabolic processes, growth and remodelling, or electrical stimulation.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2311: Robust coupling of continuum-biomechanical in silico models to establish active biological system models for later use in clinical applications - Co-design of modeling, numerics and usability