Hybrid lattice-continuum approach for medical simulations

For problems in which discontinuities are dominant such as fracture of quasi-brittle materials or cutting of soft tissues, discrete approach is a more suitable than the continuum one since discontinuities can be represented naturally. Lattice models are the good candidate, especially when the mesostructure of the studied material needs to be modeled explicitly. Indeed, the outcome of cutting, tearing, needle insertion and similar operations on soft tissues is significantly affected by the microstructure of the material. In this contribution, a master/slave approach is used in order to couple finite elements and lattice approach in a multi-domain and multiscale framework.