Computer simulations from a finite-element model for wound contraction and closure

Abstract 

Some implications from a simplified finite-element model are given in this study. The model takes into account the sequential steps of wound contraction, angiogenesis and wound closure. An innovation in the present study is the combination of these partially overlapping processes, yielding novel insights into the process of wound healing, such as geometry related influences, and could be used to investigate the influence of local injection of hormones that stimulate partial processes occurring during wound healing. These insights can be used to improve wound-healing treatments. The model consists of nonlinearly coupled diffusion–reaction and visco-elastic equations, in which transport, production and decay of oxygen, growth factors and various cell types. The present paper provides results of the healing of deep wounds under several regimes of endothelial and epithelial cell migration, and the results are interpreted in a biological sense.

Keywords: Wound healing, Finite-element method, Wound closure, Wound contraction, Angiogenesis