Multi-scale modelling and simulation of a highly deformable embedded biomedical textile mesh composite

Self-healing prostheses that can replace damaged native organs, like tissue-engineered valvular implants, are under development. Engineered soft tissues can greatly benefit from reinforcements to attain mechanical properties comparable with the native organs. Complex interactions at various levels between the reinforcements and engineered tissue make the selection of the most optimized reinforcing scaffold difficult and subject to an enormous amount of experimental evaluation. Hence, to reduce the extent of prototyping, it is prudent to develop a simulation based development approach. In the example of valvular prostheses which are textile-tissue composites, we test a simulation approach based on multi-scale modelling, often used for evaluating/predicting the behaviour of composites. A textile scaffold embedded in silicone is used as a replacement for the textile-tissue composite. The modelling technique provides a good correlation with the experimental results, laying the pathway to further study the complex interaction between the engineered tissue and the reinforcing scaffold. This method can further form the basis for evaluating the mechanical compatibility of scaffolds and their interaction with engineered tissues at various scales and levels.