Numerical Simulation in Life Sciences

Reference Applications

In several practical joint projects, numerical simulation and optimization methods were applied to investigate physical effects (e.g. microfluidics) in devices for life sciences. Typical applications were:

  • Flushing of valves, pipes or complete flow systems
  • Droplet and particle (e.g. aerosols) transport in fluids
  • Droplet and particle deposition on surfaces
  • Mixing or separation of fluids or particles
  • Characterization of bubbly flows
  • Transport, removal of bubbles or droplets
  • Lab-on-chip applications
  • Fluid-structure interactions

MobiGuide (Fraunhofer Institut FIT)

In this project an improved diagnostic procedure was developed to determine the growth of a prostate tumor (staging) more precisely. We carried out flow simulations to characterize and enhance the probe suction, the flushing of the system, and the mixing of extracted probes with the carrier fluid.


Aeskulap (Fraunhofer Institut FIT)

Concerning sepsis, a fast and reliable diagnostic method to identify pathogenic germs was investigated. With regard to a definite thermal manipulation of a separation device, a conjugate heat transfer simulation model (solid, fluid) was established. The model was used to analyze the fundamental functionality of the device.


MAS (Fraunhofer Institut FIT)

There is a wide range of application scenarios for Ambient Assisted Living systems, among them a monitoring system for cardiovascular diseases, globally still the most frequent cause of death. In the scope of this work, several microfluidic structures with regard to their wetting ability and thus the sensitivity of sensors were investigated through computational fluid dynamics.


P.R.I.T.® Air/Liquid Interface

Until recently, toxicological tests of airborne substances had to be performed above all in experimental animals. The P.R.I.T.® technology now provides a meaningful, alternative in-vitro test method based on cell cultures for toxicological testing of airborne substances from a large variety of sources. The aim of the study was to characterize and improve the deposited amount of test aerosols on the cultured human cells, to enhance the supply of nutrient in the liquid zone of the cell cultures, and furthermore to increase the amount of aerosols extracted from a sampling box. For this purpose CFD methods were applied within this project.