MS064 - Computational Modelling of Bone Growth and Adaptation across Scales

Organized by: A. Papastavrou (Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, Germany), S. Scheiner (Technische Universität Wien, Austria), P. Steinmann (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen, Germany) and P. Pivonka (Queensland University of Technology, Australia)
Keywords: Bone Growth and Adaptation, Bone Mechanics, Mechanobiology, Computational Biomechanics, Multiscale Modelling
Bone is a mechanosensitive, hierarchically structured tissue whose function and adaptation are governed by mechanical and biological processes acting across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Computational modelling has become an indispensable tool to investigate and integrate these processes: from molecular signalling and cellular mechanotransduction to tissue-level adaptation and whole-organ biomechanics. This minisymposium will focus on recent advances in computational modelling of bone growth and adaptation that address the challenges of multiscale modelling frameworks, simulation procedures, graphical representation, and validation against experimental data. We aim to highlight approaches that connect fundamental mechanobiological mechanisms with bone’s macroscopic behavior, including continuum- and microstructural modelling, image-based simulations, and multiscale or multiphysics frameworks. Particular emphasis will be placed on methodologies that bridge scales, either through homogenisation and nested modelling strategies, or via data-driven and machine learning techniques. Contributions that integrate experimental data, explore numerical and computational challenges, or propose innovative model validation strategies are especially encouraged. By bringing together researchers from computational biomechanics, applied mechanics, mechanobiology, and related fields, the symposium aims to foster interdisciplinary exchange and contribute to a deeper understanding of bone’s mechanobiological behaviour in growth and adaptation. The ultimate goal is to support the development of predictive, mechanistic models of bone that are not only biologically and physically grounded, but also computationally robust and extensible across scales.