UMass Amherst Researchers to Host Conference on Computer Simulation of Biological Systems
March 14, 2007
| Contact: | Betsy Dumont 413/545-3565 |
AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty members Betsy Dumont and Ian Grosse have been awarded a $6,000 grant to host a conference on applying engineering computer simulation techniques to complex biological systems. Funding was provided by the university’s vice provost for research.
Scheduled for June 2007, the conference will train researchers to turn images from CT scans or microscopes into 3-D computer models, a process suitable for everything from plant roots and large scale mammal studies to biomechanical devices. The behavior of the model under stress will be predicted using finite element analysis (FEA), a virtual analysis tool that breaks an object into discrete pieces or “elements” and uses a set of mathematical equations to describe everything from loads, material properties, deformation and density at each point.
“There is no off-the-shelf software that works easily,” says Dumont. “We will teach what programs are best, how to use them, how to exchange information between them and provide important geometric modeling guidelines on the appropriate level of detail to include when creating a three-dimensional model.”
Dumont and Grosse hope the workshop will be a yearly event that will promote collaboration with researchers at other universities and create industry partnerships. In the future, the team expects to secure additional funding and continue to work with software developers to streamline the process and make it more accessible. “We also hope to make UMass Amherst a repository for finite element models of biological systems,” said Dumont. “We want to be the go-to place for this technology with a center that provides training and offers FEA as a service to outside researchers.”
Dumont, a biologist, is researching the evolution of diversity in the feeding habits of mammals using bats as a model system. After collecting bite strength data and observing the bats in the wild, Dumont wanted to explore how the act of feeding placed strains on the bones of the skull. Usual methods involve the surgical implantation of strain gauges, an invasive procedure that was not suitable for these tiny mammals.
Instead, the skulls were imaged using CT scans creating hundreds of cross-sectional images. Dumont then collaborated with Grosse, a mechanical engineer and a leader in the field of FEA with experience in applying it to biomechanical devices.
Working under a grant from the National Science Foundation, the team has made significant advances in modifying existing software to accept the complex and irregular shapes found in biological systems. “Usually, FEA models deal with well-defined, regular shapes generated in CAD programs,” says Grosse. “Our biggest challenge was to accommodate the defects and unnecessary details found in organic objects that the programs couldn’t handle.”
The team was able to generate and solve 3-D models that show the stresses carried by the skull when the chewing muscles are working. The results were interesting. By comparing different species, they found that the shape of the skull has a significant impact on the types and magnitudes of forces that it can bear. “The amount of data generated was enormous,” said Dumont. “It was like running thousands of experiments at once and being able to visualize the forces acting on the entire skull at a single instant in time.”
Additional funding for the conference will be provided by software companies specializing in FEA including Strand7, Volume Graphics and Geomagic.
#129-07
E-mail story to a friend 
Printer-friendly version
