Automated Generation of Tissue-Specific Finite Element Models Containing Ellipsoidal Cellular Inclusions

Microstructural cellular finite element (FE) models provide a means of describing tissue micromechanics and cell mechanobiology. For the cartilage, for example, the mechanical environment of chondrocytes has been explored with models such as those from the pioneering work of Guilak and Mow [1]. However, most cellular FE models typically include a single cell. These models do not provide the capacity to explore mechanobiological function and micromechanical effects caused by intercellular interactions. Therefore, it is desirable to develop models that more closely represent cell distribution and shape within the tissue of interest.