A physically based structural model for a textile prosthetic mesh

This study is aimed at a physically based model formulation for a textile mesh implant to describe its mechanical behavior at a mesoscopic length scale. A structural model of a representative unit cell of the knitted prosthetic mesh is proposed based on the theory of multibody systems. The model geometry and the constitutive laws of the force elements are defined based on physical considerations. The parameters determining the force laws, are adjusted to fit the experimentally observed force response and the macro- and mesoscale kinematics. A comparison between the experimental data and the model response show its excellent descriptive capabilities. The level of non-affine deformations within a unit cell is proposed as a mesoscale criterion to quantify the mechanical biocompatibility of textile mesh implants. This view might help to understand clinical observations and complications associated with a local mismatch of deformation between the implant and the host tissue.