Patient-specific computational biomechanics of the brain

[Truncated abstract] In this research, I studied a method to generate patient-specific biomechanical models without segmentation and meshing by using an alternative framework to commonly used Finite Element method.

To utilise computational biomechanics of the brain in practical (clinical applications, such as computer-aided surgery planning, we need a framework that can 1) generate the patient-specific computational grid efficiently; 2) handle unknown invivo patient-specific material properties; and 3) produce meaningful results from a fully nonlinear simulation in a short time without supercomputers.

I created a Fuzzy Mesh-Free Total Lagrangian Explicit Dynamic (FMTLED) framework that met these requirements. The framework utilised a Mesh-Free method so that 1) The biomechanical model worked directly on an unstructured cloud of points that did not form elements; 2) It performed numerical integration over a nonconforming background grid, 3) It assigned material properties to integration points based upon fuzzy tissue classification; and 4) The results were weakly sensitive to the patient-specific mechanical properties (the model could have much less stringent requirements for tissue classifications).