Dipartimento di Ingegneria
Università degli Studi di Perugia

Bioengineering applies engineering principles and methodologies to biological and medical sciences to better understand biological phenomena, to develop new techniques and devices, to improve patient care.

Research programs include:

The design and analysis of medical devices and implants – Applications to orthodontic, orthopaedic, cardiovascular, and musculo-skeletal systems: they are studied both numerically (finite element models, multibody models) and experimentally (strain gauges, differential thermography, etc.) in order to assess and to optimize stress/strain distributions. Detailed geometrical models are built form CT, RM, laser scans through reverse engineering techniques.

Endomedullary Nail	3D Printed custom-made prosthesis

 

Impact biomechanics - Impact biomechanics is dedicated to injury prevention through environmental control. Its goals are the protection of vehicle occupants, of pedestrians, of workers, of athletes. The research is based on finite elements numerical models, calculated by explicit solvers.

Multibody model of pedestrian-vehicle impact

 

Ergonomics - Biomechanical principles are applied to the design, analysis and optimization of workplaces and of sport equipment, in order to reduce musculoskeletal disorders. In vivo measures allow assessing the human exposure to physical agents, and the respective human response.

Tissue mechanics - Researches focus on material characterization of native and healing biological tissues as well as tissue engineered biomaterial constructs. Material testing methods and constitutive models are used to describe the mechanical behaviors of these tissues in compression, tension and shear. Both hyperelastic and viscous behaviors are considered.

Mechanical tests on ovarian tissue	Mechanical tests on an equine laryngoplasty

 

Tissue engineering in silico - Design of bioreactors and optimization of their operative conditions taking into account cellular and chemical parameters for tissue growth, covering the processes of cellular proliferation, differentiation, movement, attrition, matrix secretion and remodeling. Multiphysics FEM analisys involving CFD, Chemical and Structural Mechanics modules.