Abstract
The MiGEM proposal targets one of the remaining grand challenges in biomechanics: the development of a comprehensive, inter-scale, thermodynamically and energetically coherent multiphysics model of gastrointestinal (GI) motility. Despite the importance of gastrointestinal disorders as a primary global health problem, electromechanical modelling of gastrointestinal motility still presents significant theoretical and experimental limitations compared to more advanced fields such as cardiovascular bioengineering. Technical difficulties exist due to the intrinsic multiscale nature of gastrointestinal tissues, the coupling of multiple cell types and roles, and the combination of electrical and mechanical phenomena involving different energetic mechanisms. MiGEM will unlock new frontiers in GI research, addressing several state-of-the-art problems in gastrointestinal motility and opening unprecedented opportunities in novel subject-specific therapies.
