Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Spatial models of vascularized tissues are widely used in computational physiology. We introduce a software library for composing multiscale, multiphysics models for applications including tumor growth, angiogenesis, osteogenesis, coronary perfusion, and oxygen delivery. Composition of such models is time consuming, with many researchers writing custom software. Recent advances in imaging have produced detailed three-dimensional (3D) datasets of vascularized tissues at the scale of individual cells. To fully exploit such data there is an increasing need for software that allows user-friendly composition of efficient, 3D models of vascularized tissues, and comparison of predictions with in vivo or in vitro experiments and alternative computational formulations. Microvessel Chaste can be used to build simulations of vessel growth and adaptation in response to mechanical and chemical stimuli; intra- and extravascular transport of nutrients, growth factors and drugs; and cell proliferation in complex 3D geometries. In addition, it can be used to develop custom software for integrating modeling with experimental data processing workflows, facilitated by a comprehensive Python interface to solvers implemented in C++. This article links to two reproducible example problems, showing how the library can be used to build simulations of tumor growth and angiogenesis with realistic vessel networks.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.bpj.2017.03.036

Type

Journal article

Journal

Biophys J

Publication Date

09/05/2017

Volume

112

Pages

1767 - 1772

Keywords

Adenocarcinoma, Algorithms, Animals, Cell Line, Tumor, Colonic Neoplasms, Computer Simulation, Cornea, Imaging, Three-Dimensional, Internet, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Microvessels, Models, Biological, Neoplasm Transplantation, Neovascularization, Pathologic, Neovascularization, Physiologic, Software, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A