Description
In collaboration with Dr. Gerard Ateshian at Columbia University, the Weiss laboratory develops, maintains and supports FEBio (Finite Elements for Biomechanics and Biophysics, www.febio.org), an open-source finite element software package for computational biomechanics and biophysics. As of 2023, there are over 16,500 registered users and the software has been downloaded over 77,000 times. This R01 project has been funded by NIH/NIGMS since 2007. This has provided the opportunity for us to serve the biomechanics research community by developing new computational algorithms and methodologies to meet their research needs, and to document, distribute and support the software.
Our research in computational biomechanics focuses on the use of the finite element method to examine the mechanics of soft and hard tissues. We have developed techniques to build subject-specific finite element models of soft and hard tissues directly from medical image data such as CT, MRI, OCT or microscopy images.
We have also developed constitutitve models and finite element implementations that capture the nonlinear, anisotropic and viscoelastic properties of materials such as ligament, tendon, cartilage and meniscus. Our last focus has been on capturing boundary conditions in numerical simulations that are unique to biomechanics such as residual/initial stress and position-dependent anisotropy. The techniques have been applied to the study of knee mechanics, shoulder ligament mechanics, cartilage defects, and the hip.
Grants
- Morphological and Biomechanical Insights into the Pathophysiology of Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome (1R01AR077636)
- Computational Modeling of the Atrioventricular Valve Repair Single Ventricle Patients with Atrioventricular Canal
- Computational and Statistical Framework to Model Tissue Shape and Mechanics (R01EB016701)
- Regenerative Rehabilitation of Complex Musculoskeletal Injuries
- Cancer invasion: reciprocity between the extracellular matrix and intrinsic ERK signaling
- Lab-to-User Training and Dissemination for the FEBio Software Suite (U24EB029007)
- Neovessel Guidance in Angiogenesis (R01HL131856)
- Mechanical Regulation of Vascular Growth and Remodeling (R01AR069297)
- Preoperative Planning for Surgical Treatment of Hip Dysplasia
- Predicting Cell Deformation from Body Level Mechanical Loads (R01EB009643)
- Modeling of Skeletal Muscle with FEBio
- Mechanisms Impairing Finger Extension Following Stroke (R01NS052369)
- Efficient Methods for Multi-Domain Biomechanical Simulations (R01EB006735)
- Capsular Restraints to Total Hip Dislocation (R01AR053553)
- Origins of Elasticity and Viscoelasticity in Knee Ligaments (R01AR047369)
- Virtual Soldier: Cardiothoracic Models
- Patient-Specific Computational Models for Preoperative Surgical Planning of Total Hip Arthroplasty and Correction of Hip Dysplasia (51003026)
- Proteins to Populations: A Metacluster for Bioinformatics (R01721401)
- Computational Modeling of Total Hip Arthroplasty: Development and Validation
- Measurement of Meniscus Strain via MR Imaging
- Registration of high resolution volumetric MRI Images of the Brain (R01CA8281301A2)
- Registration of High-Resolution Volumetric MRI Images of the Brain (V901200)
- Image Based Modeling, Simulation, and Visualization Summer Course for Biomedical Researchers (R25GM107009)
- Population-Based Shape and Biomechanical Analysis of Hip Pathoanatomy (R01EB016701)
- Computational Framework for Multiscale Mechanics of Connective Tissues (R01EB015133)
- FEBio: Finite Elements for Biomechanics (2R01GM083925)
- Origins of Elasticity and Viscoelasticity in Ligaments (R01AR047369)
- Material models for ligament and annulus fibrosis – implementations for membrane and solid finite elements
- Center for Simulation of Accidental Fires and Explosions (CSAFE) – Container Dynamics
- Development of 1D and 3D finite element representations for passive and active muscle behavior
- Development of a deformable human finite element model for biomechanical analyses of automobile passenger ergonomics
- Software to Incorporate Image Data into Continuum Mechanics Analyses
- Numerical Model to study Kinematics of Normal and Injured Knees
