Modeling and Computer Simulation of Viscoelastic Crypt Deformation

ABSTRACT

Colorectal cancer morphogenesis begins at the cellular level from cell mutations in the intestinal epithelium cavities called crypts. These mutations lead to a pressure difference in the epithelium crypt walls, which can cause deformation and generate visible abnormalities in the epithelium. The geometrical modeling of these crypts and the mathematical modeling of the biomechanical process that leads to deformations can be simulated by using a Finite Element Method. The method solves numerically the system of partial differential equations (PDEs) that governs this phenomenon and permits to estimate the deformations of the crypt walls. In this work we simulate the crypt deformation when the cell mutations appear in several regions of the crypt epithelium.

Keywords:
colorectal cancer; crypts; finite element method; computer simulation