Model Generation from Imaging Data for Simulation in Biomechanics

There has been increasing interest in the generation of models appropriate for computational simulations - Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) - from biomedical imaging data. Novel methods of generating the required volume discretizations directly and robustly from the image data have been proposed however there are a range of issues related to image processing and mesh generation which still need to be addressed. The paper will present issues specific to image-based meshing, in particular techniques for the generation and handling of appropriately anti-aliased multi-part image masks for producing accurate models from surface and volume reconstruction techniques. Two case studies will be presented, including the model generation of a hip implant by merging image and CAD data, and the pressure response in head impacts.