COMSOL Day: Medtech

Computational modeling and simulation (CM&S) is extensively used in the field of medical technology to examine issues relating to patient safety, product quality, efficacy, and regulatory compliance. Furthermore, CM&S is considered essential in addressing challenges such as reducing reliance on animal testing, handling the variability of organ shapes and tissue properties, and advancing organ-on-a-chip technology.

Medical technologies share the complexity of involving multiple physical effects and require collaborative expertise of professionals from various disciplines, including biologists, engineers, and medical doctors.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® is highly favored in the field for its user-friendliness and wide range of capabilities for simulating many different physical phenomena. The software includes features for modeling electromagnetic fields, fluid flow in both free and porous media, reacting flows, and heat transfer in biological tissues. The extensive simulation capabilities enable the creation of high-fidelity virtual prototypes for a deeper understanding of the physics and couplings involved in studying devices that interact with biological systems. Moreover, COMSOL Multiphysics^® includes the Application Builder, which makes it possible to create easy-to-use simulation apps that, when placed in the hands of biology or medical professionals, can be used for decision-making in the design of medical technologies.

This session will provide an overview of the features in COMSOL Multiphysics^® for model development and the use of standalone simulation apps in the field of medical technologies.

In the medical industry, modeling and simulation has proven to be a valuable tool for design and development, enabling virtual prototyping that offers insight into the underlying processes of medical devices and systems.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® is widely used in the design and integration of biochemical sensors and diagnostic tests, helping to improve their robustness, sensitivity, and reproducibility. The software provides a broad set of features for modeling species transport and chemical reactions in conjunction with bioreceptors. It also supports the simulation of various physical phenomena relevant to biomedical transducers, including electrochemistry, piezoelectricity, optics, acoustics, and thermal processes.

In this session, we will demonstrate how the COMSOL^® software can be used to model biosensors and diagnostic devices, such as glucose sensors and rapid detection tests. We will also provide an overview of features in the Uncertainty Quantification Module and the Optimization Module that can help enhance the sensitivity and accuracy of these systems.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool in the development of medical technologies, enabling engineers and researchers to create virtual prototypes and analyze complex fluid flow phenomena involved in various devices and processes.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® and its add-on products offer a broad set of modeling features for simulating flow in diverse applications, including hospital room aeration, blood vessels, lab-on-a-chip systems, pumps, drug delivery devices, and medical substance synthesis. The software’s multiphysics capabilities make it especially well suited for studying the interactions between fluid flow and other physical effects, such as dielectrophoresis in blood cell separation, fluid–structure interaction in arteries, and coupled bioheat and blood flow modeling.

In this session, we will demonstrate how to model fluid flow in medical and biomedical devices using COMSOL Multiphysics^®. We will also provide an overview of the software’s multiphysics capabilities, with a focus on couplings related to fluid flow.

Learn the fundamental workflow of COMSOL Multiphysics^®. This introductory demonstration will show you all of the key modeling steps, including geometry creation, setting up physics, meshing, solving, and evaluating and visualizing results.

The use of modeling and simulation is essential in the design and analysis of minimally invasive therapies, which utilize thin microwave antennas, radio-frequency probes, or laser fibers inserted directly through the skin for localized tissue treatment. By incorporating thermal damage into their models, engineers and scientists can assess the efficacy and safety of clinical procedures and gain valuable insights into the underlying physical phenomena.

The COMSOL Multiphysics^® software and its add-on products provide extensive capabilities for modeling heat transfer and heat generation in biological tissues, alongside phenomena involving electric and magnetic fields, such as electroporation. These multiphysics features make it possible to fine-tune model parameters to minimize unintended thermal damage and maximize therapeutic outcomes.

In this session, we will demonstrate how to build simulation models using COMSOL Multiphysics^® and showcase key modeling features and multiphysics capabilities through examples relevant to medical technologies involving heat transfer and electromagnetic (EM) effects.

Modeling and simulation can be used to design and optimize medical devices that involve acoustics and vibrations, as well as to study how these devices interact with the human body. Modeling and simulation can also help reduce the need for costly or risky clinical trials and support the approval process for new medical devices and treatments.

In the development of acoustic biomedical systems, accurately predicting and managing acoustic wave propagation is essential. COMSOL Multiphysics^®, together with the Acoustics Module add-on, offers a comprehensive set of features for studying acoustic phenomena across a wide range of frequencies and scales. Available numerical methods include the finite element method (FEM), boundary element method (BEM), discontinuous Galerkin finite element method (dG-FEM), and ray tracing.

Analyzing acoustic waves in tissue often requires accounting for nonlinear effects and tissue heating. COMSOL^® also supports the modeling of these effects as well as piezoelectric behavior and thermoviscous losses in devices such as transducers and sensors.

In this session, we will take a closer look at how COMSOL Multiphysics^® and the Acoustics Module can support acoustics modeling in the development of medical technologies.

The use of modeling and simulation has become essential in the study of biomaterials and tissue biomechanics, enabling detailed biomechanical analysis and insights through virtual testing.

COMSOL Multiphysics^® and its add-on products provide comprehensive capabilities for simulating the mechanical behavior of biomaterials and biological tissues. With support for advanced constitutive models and specialized features, the software enables stress and strain analysis in nonlinear and fibrous media with complex anisotropy, facilitates material model calibration, and supports testing under a wide range of loading conditions.

This session will demonstrate how COMSOL^® can be used to model biological tissues such as arterial walls, the myocardium, and bone, as well as medical devices like stents. We will also highlight the capabilities of the Structural Mechanics Module and the Nonlinear Structural Materials Module, showing how they can support research in biomaterials and tissue biomechanics.