A predictive tool for foreign body fibrotic reactions using a two-dimensional computational model

Abstract:

It is well established that implanted medical devices often trigger immunological and inflammatory reactions. Such foreign body-mediated tissue responses may result in fibrotic tissue formation surrounding the implants. Despite intensive research in the area of wound healing, few methods are currently available to systematically predict the quantitative behavior of this complex system of multiple cells, proteins, and enzymes. This study introduces a kinetics-based predictive tool in order to analyze outcomes of reactions of various cells/proteins and biochemical processes and to understand transient behavior during the entire implant healing period of up to several months. A computational model in two spatial dimensions is constructed to investigate the time dynamics as well as spatial variation of fibrotic reaction kinetics. Our results support that this model can be used to predict many features in a systematic way and also to forecast the outcomes of complex tissue responses to biomaterial implants.

Keywords::

• mathematical model
• inflammatory responses
• foreign body reactions
• fibrosis
• predictive tool