Multiscale Modeling of the Skeletal System

Integrative approaches to biomedical research promise to advance our understanding of the human body and physiopathology of diseases. In this book, the author focuses on the skeletal system, demonstrating how multiscale modeling can determine the relationship between bone mechanics and disease. Introductory chapters explain the concept of integrative research, what a model is, predictive modeling, and the computational methods used throughout the book. Starting with whole body anatomy, physiology and modeling, subsequent chapters scale down from bone and tissue levels to the cellular level, where the modeling of mechanobiological processes is addressed. Finally, the principles are applied to address truly complex, multiscale interactions. Special attention is given to real-world clinical applications: one in pediatric skeletal oncology and one on the prediction of fracture risks in osteoporotic patients. This book has wide interdisciplinary appeal and is a valuable resource for researchers in mechanical and biomedical engineering, quantitative physiology and computational biology.

Marco Viceconti is a world expert in the computational modeling of musculoskeletal systems. The primary driving force behind the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) Initiative, which aims to develop the methods and technologies to make possible the dream of systems biology, physiome and systems medicine, he is currently the Director of the VPH Institute, the international no-profit organisation that drives the VPH Initiative.