A Computational Model of the Biochemomechanics of an Evolving Occlusive Thrombus

Blood clots are fundamental to preventing excessive blood loss in cases of vascular injury and to promoting subsequent wound healing, but also to many disease conditions. The biomechanical properties of clots play important roles in dictating the natural history in health and disease. In this paper, we present a novel multiscale computational model of biological, chemical, and mechanical contributions to the maturation of an occlusive clot from a fibrin-dominated to a collagen-dominated tissue. For an occlusive venous thrombus, simulations show the potential coupling between mechanical deformations and chemical processes, which can result in competing phenomena. This mixture-based framework also promises to guide future experimentation, which is vitally needed to increase our understanding of the complex and important biochemomechanics of clots.