COMSOL Day: Medical & Biomedical Technologies

Modeling and simulation (M&S) is extensively used in research and development within the medical and biomedical technology fields. It is used to examine issues relating to patient safety, product quality, efficacy, and regulatory compliance. Furthermore, M&S is considered essential in addressing challenges such as reducing reliance on animal testing, handling the variability of organ shapes and tissue properties, and advancing organ-on-a-chip technology.

Medical and biomedical technologies share the complexity of involving multiple physical effects and require the collaborative expertise of professionals from various disciplines, including biologists, engineers, and medical doctors.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® is highly favored in these fields for its user-friendliness and wide range of capabilities for simulating many different physical phenomena. The software includes features for modeling electromagnetic fields, fluid flow in both free and porous media, reacting flows, and heat transfer in biological tissues. The extensive simulation capabilities enable the creation of high-fidelity virtual prototypes for a deeper understanding of the physics and couplings involved in studying devices that interact with biological systems. Moreover, COMSOL Multiphysics^® includes the Application Builder, which makes it possible to create easy-to-use simulation apps that, when placed in the hands of biology or medical professionals, can be used for decision-making in the design of biomedical technologies.

This session will provide an overview of the features in COMSOL Multiphysics^® for model development and the use of standalone simulation apps in the field of biomedical technologies.

In the medical and biomedical industries, modeling and simulation (M&S) has proven to be a valuable asset for design and development, enabling virtual prototyping that provides insight into the processes underlying devices and systems.

In particular, the COMSOL Multiphysics^® software is widely used in the design and integration of biochemical sensors and tests, contributing to the improvement of their robustness, sensitivity, and reproducibility. For use in this area, the software offers a broad range of functionality for modeling species transport and reactions in conjunction with bioreceptors. It also provides capabilities for modeling various phenomena that occur in biomedical transducers, such as electrochemistry, piezoelectricity, optics, acoustics, thermal processes, and more.

In this session, we will demonstrate the COMSOL^® software's capabilities for modeling biosensors and test devices, including glucose sensors and rapid detection tests. We will also provide an overview of the features available in the Uncertainty Quantification Module and the Optimization Module that can be used to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of such devices.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has proven to be a powerful asset in the field of biomedical technologies, enabling engineers and researchers to build virtual prototypes and study and optimize devices and processes that may involve intricate fluid flow phenomena.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® and its add-on products offer a wide range of modeling features for analyzing flows in various configurations, such as room aeration in hospitals and flow in blood vessels, lab-on-a-chip devices, pumps, drug delivery devices, and medical substance synthesis. The software's unique multiphysics capabilities make it possible to study how flow and other phenomena may interact in, for example, dielectrophoresis devices for blood cell separation, fluid–structure interaction in arteries, and bioheat and blood flow.

In this session, we will provide a modeling demonstration in COMSOL Multiphysics^® relating to fluid flow in medical and biomedical devices. In addition, we will give an overview of the software’s multiphysics modeling capabilities with a focus on couplings related to fluid flow.

Learn the fundamental workflow of COMSOL Multiphysics^®. This introductory demonstration will show you all of the key modeling steps, including geometry creation, setting up physics, meshing, solving, and evaluating and visualizing results.

The use of modeling and simulation is essential in the design and analysis of minimally invasive therapies, which rely on thin microwave antennas, radio-frequency probes, or laser fibers inserted directly through the skin for local tissue treatment. By including thermal damage into their models, engineers and scientists can investigate the efficacy and safety of the clinical setup and gain insights into the physical phenomena involved.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® and its add-on products offer extensive capabilities for modeling heat transfer and heat generation in biological tissues, in combination with phenomena such as electric and magnetic fields. These unique multiphysics features allow for fine-tuning model parameters to minimize thermal damage and maximize therapeutic benefits.

In this session, we will demonstrate how to build simulation models using COMSOL Multiphysics^® and highlight some modeling features and multiphysics capabilities based on examples relevant to heat transfer and the electromagnetic (EM) heating of biological tissue.

Modeling and simulation (M&S) can be used to design and optimize medical devices that involve acoustics and vibrations, as well as to understand the interaction between these devices and the human body. M&S can also reduce the need for costly and risky clinical trials and assist in the approval process of new medical devices and treatments.

When developing acoustic biomedical systems, predicting and managing the propagation of acoustic waves is essential. Acoustic propagation can be better understood with COMSOL Multiphysics^® and the Acoustics Module add-on product, which offers a wide range of features for studying acoustic phenomena across various frequencies and scales. For instance, it includes numerical methods like the finite element method (FEM), the boundary element method (BEM), the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method (dG-FEM), and ray tracing.

Analyzing acoustic waves in tissue further requires considering nonlinear effects and tissue heating. The COMSOL^® software provides capabilities for modeling these phenomena as well as piezoelectric effects and thermoviscous losses in devices like transducers and sensors.

Join this session to learn how COMSOL Multiphysics^® and the Acoustics Module can aid in acoustics modeling for biomedical technologies.

Modeling and simulation has become important in the study of biomaterials and tissue biomechanics, enabling detailed biomechanical analysis and understanding through virtual testing.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® and its add-on products offer comprehensive capabilities for modeling the mechanical behavior of biomaterials and biological tissues. With advanced constitutive laws and specialized features, these products allow for stress and strain analysis in nonlinear and fibrous media exhibiting complex anisotropy, facilitate material model calibration, and enable testing under various loading conditions.

This session will explore the functionality in COMSOL^® for modeling biological tissues like arterial walls, the myocardium, or bone, and biomedical devices such as stents. We will also discuss the Structural Mechanics Module and Nonlinear Structural Materials Module, highlighting how they can aid in biomaterials and tissue biomechanics research.