Numerical investigation of the electrical current effect on the fibrous tissue growth around biomaterials

The objective of this study is to assess numerically the effect of applying electrical current on the fibrous tissue growth around polyethylene disk-shaped implants while subcutaneously placed inside 60 day old male Han-Wistar rats. This problem can be formulated as a design problem where the goal is to determine the parameters of a partial differential operator to achieve a desired effect. These electrical current parameters are computed using a regularized iterative method. The obtained results reveal that employing an appropriate electrical current profile can reduce the fibrous tissue concentration around the considered implant by up to 80%. This preliminary study tends to demonstrate the effectiveness of this novel and non-invasive approach to shield the implant from intolerable levels of fibrous tissue growth, which consequently expands the lifespan and functionality of implanted devices, as well as avoids costly and traumatic surgical procedures.