PIMS-SFU Computational Math Seminar - Ryan Konno (SFU)

Abstract: Skeletal muscle structure and the changes that occur in diseased muscle tissue cross several physical length scales. Diseased muscle tissue often has alterations on the microscopic level to individual contractile components inside the muscle fibres, as well as changes to the overall muscle geometry. Cerebral palsy is one such permanent disorder that results in substantial changes to the skeletal muscle microstructure. A fundamental component to muscle function is the sarcomere, which produces both active and passive forces. During cerebral palsy, the sarcomeres are typically lengthened, which results in increased passive force and decreased active force. Additionally, there is often an observed increase in the amount of the collagenous extracellular matrix, which surrounds the muscle fibres. These changes are on the level of micrometers, but typically we are interested in the whole muscle mechanics on the scale of centimeters. Causation between the changes to the microstructure, and the overall muscle behaviour is difficult to determine using experimental techniques. This talk will present a 3D continuum model for muscle, which we use to investigate the behaviour of cerebral palsy affected muscle and determine individual microscopic contributions to whole muscle mechanics.