Application of Composite Smeared Finite Element Model in Drug Delivery Inside Organs

We here implement the smeared field finite element methodology, formulated by the last listed author, which is presented in numerous of recent publications. This methodology enables modeling physical fields in biological systems in a simple way, which otherwise, by detailed representation of each biological constituents (capillaries, cell membranes, cell interior, etc.), would not be practical to use. Here we summarize the basic concept of the smeared modeling by describing briefly formulation of a composite smeared finite element (CSFE). Besides the standard FE representation of continuum fields of molecular transport, 1D transport is included in a continuum form using the appropriate transport tensors. Physical fields are coupled by the connectivity elements at each node, representing transport properties of the walls separating the domains. In this paper, methodology is applied to determine concentration field within liver of a mouse, generated from images, containing a tumor. Also, evolution of drug concentration within tumor is presented, which is important for improvement of cancer therapy.