Publications

2026

• Assessment of Human Corneal Biomechanical Properties After Refractive Surgery With Inflation Test Using Optical Coherence Tomography
  
  • Memmi Benjamin
  • Wu Qian
  • Borderie Vincent
  • Allain Jean-Marc
  Journal of Refractive Surgery, Slack, 2026, 42 (1), pp.64-70. The incidence of myopia is currently increasing worldwide. It is becoming a significant public health issue, with billions of people (ie, 49.8% of the world population) estimated to be affected by this condition by 2050. Refractive surgery is a corneal surgery that treats myopia by modifying the shape of the cornea. Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK), and small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) are three mainstay refractive surgeries worldwide. Recent advances, specifically in the understanding of the biomechanical properties of the cornea and its response to diseases and surgical interventions, have significantly improved the safety and surgical outcomes of corneal refractive surgery, whose popularity and demand continue to grow worldwide. However, iatrogenic keratectasia resulting from the deterioration in corneal biomechanics caused by surgical interventions, although rare, remains a global concern. In vivo biomechanical evaluation, enabled by clinical imaging systems such as the ORA (Reichert Technologies) and the Corvis ST (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH), has significantly improved the risk profiling of patients for iatrogenic keratectasia. (10.3928/1081597x-20251202-03)
  DOI : 10.3928/1081597x-20251202-03
• Micro-Poro-Mechanical Modeling of The Lung Parenchyma: Theoretical Modeling and Parameters Identification
  
  • Manoochehrtayebi Mahdi
  • Genet Martin
  • Bel-Brunon Aline
  Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2026, 148 (1), pp.BIO-25-1063. Micro-poro-mechanical approaches can be employed to simulate the behavior of porous media, such as lung parenchyma, with respect to their microscopic morphological and mechanical features. In this work, we propose a general micromechanical framework to describe the behavior of a porous hyperelastic material in large strains, including surface tension, and adapt its parameters to reproduce lung parenchyma behavior. We illustrate the method on a 2D periodic microstructure. The modeling framework is adaptable to any microstructure and any combination of stress, strain and pressure loadings.The identification of the model parameters in the context of lung parenchyma, based on existing experimental morphological and pressure-volume data, is performed sequentially. 12 parameters related to morphology, alveolar wall constitutive behavior and surface tension are calibrated to reproduce pressure-volume curves in various conditions, for a porosity in the unloaded state set to Φf0 =63%. The calibrated alveolar diameter is Dalv = 54 μm. The identifiability of the Neohookean and Ogden-Ciarlet-Geymonat hyperelastic potential parameters is studied; their values are β1 = 94.3 Pa, β2 = 16.9 Pa, β3 = 619 Pa and α = 3.154. The hysteretic response of lung to pressure is reproduced thanks to the formulation of a surface-dependent surface tension. This work paves the way for a better understanding of the relationship between microscopic features and the macroscopic response of lung, in healthy and pathological conditions. Further experimental investigations could help confirming the ranges of parameters obtained in this study. (10.1115/1.4070036)
  DOI : 10.1115/1.4070036
• Community challenge towards consensus on characterization of biological tissue: C4Bio’s first findings
  
  • Famaey Nele
  • Fehervary Heleen
  • Lafon Yoann
  • Akyildiz Ali
  • Dreesen Silke
  • Bruyère-Garnier Karine
  • Allain Jean-Marc
  • Alloisio Marta
  • Aparici-Gil Alejandro
  • Catalano Chiara
  • Chassagne Fanette
  • Chokhandre Snehal
  • Crevits Kimberly
  • Crielaard Hanneke
  • Cunnane Eoghan
  • Cunnane Connor
  • de Leener Karen
  • Desai Amisha
  • Driessen Rob
  • Erdemir Ahmet
  • Eskandari Mona
  • Evans Sam
  • Gasser Christian
  • Gebhardt Marc
  • Glasmacher Birgit
  • Holzapfel Gerhard
  • Isasi Mikel
  • Jennings Louise
  • Kurz Sascha
  • Leal-Marin Sara
  • Lecomte Pauline
  • Morch Annie
  • Mulvihill John
  • Nemavhola Fulufhelo
  • Pandelani Thanyani
  • Pasta Salvatore
  • Peña Estefania
  • Pierrat Baptiste
  • Ploeg Heidi-Lynn
  • Polzer Stanislav
  • Rausch Manuel
  • Schwarz David
  • Screen Hazel
  • Sherifova Selda
  • Sommer Gerhard
  • Wang Shengzhang
  • Walsh Darragh
  • Yadav Deepesh
  • Marchal Thierry
  • Geris Liesbet
  Journal of Biomechanics, Elsevier, 2026, 194, pp.113021. This study investigates methodological variability across various expert laboratories worldwide, with regards to characterizing the mechanical properties of biological tissues. Two testing rounds were conducted on the specific use case of uniaxial tensile testing of porcine aorta. In the first round, 24 labs were invited to apply their established methods to assess inter-laboratory variability. This revealed significant methodological diversity and associated variability in the stress–stretch results, underscoring the necessity for a standardized approach. In the second round, a consensus protocol was collaboratively developed and adopted by 19 labs in an attempt to minimize variability. This involved standardized sample preparation and uniformity in testing protocol, including the use of a common cutting and thickness measurement tool. Despite protocol harmonization, significant variability persisted across labs, which could not be solely attributed to inherent biological differences in tissue samples. These results illustrate the challenges in unifying testing methods across different research settings, underlining the necessity for further refinement of testing practices. Enhancing consistency in biomechanical experiments is pivotal when comparing results across studies, as well as when using the resulting material properties for in silico simulations in medical research. (10.1016/j.jbiomech.2025.113021)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2025.113021
• Stability analysis of a new curl-based full field reconstruction method in 2D isotropic nearly-incompressible elasticity
  
  • Chibli Nagham
  • Genet Martin
  • Imperiale Sébastien
  Inverse Problems, IOP Publishing, 2026. In time-harmonic elastography, the shear modulus is typically inferred from full field displacement data by solving an inverse problem based on the time-harmonic elastodynamic equation. In this paper, we focus on nearly incompressible media, which pose robustness challenges, especially in the presence of noisy data. Restricting ourselves to 2D and considering an isotropic, linearly deforming medium, we reformulate the problem as a non-autonomous hyperbolic system and, through theoretical analysis, establish existence, uniqueness, and stability of the inverse problem. To ensure robustness with noisy data, we propose a least-squares approach with regularization. The convergence properties of the method are verified numerically using in silico data.
• A new surrogate microstructure generator for porous materials with applications to the buffer layer of TRISO nuclear fuel particles
  
  • Eisenhardt Philipp
  • Khristenko Ustim
  • Wohlmuth Barbara
  • Constantinescu Andrei
  Journal of Nuclear Materials, Elsevier, 2026, 624, pp.156498. We present a surrogate material model for generating microstructure samples reproducing the morphology of the real material. The generator is based on Gaussian random fields, with a Matérn kernel and a topological support field defined through ellipsoidal inclusions clustered by a random walk algorithm. We identify the surrogate model parameters by minimizing misfits in a list of statistical and geometrical descriptors of the material microstructure. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the method for porous nuclear materials, we apply the generator to the buffer layer of Tristructural Isotropic Nuclear Fuel (TRISO) particles. This part has been shown to be a failure sensitive part of TRISO nuclear fuel and our generator is optimized with respect to a publicly available dataset of the buffer layer FIB-SEM tomography measured by a team of researchers from University of Wisconsin at Madison and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We evaluate the performance by applying mechanical modeling with problems of linear elastic homogenization and linear elastic brittle fracture material properties and comparing the behaviour of the dataset microstructure and the surrogate microstructure. This shows good agreement between the dataset microstructure and the generated microstructures over a large range of porosities. (10.1016/j.jnucmat.2026.156498)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2026.156498
• Asymptotic strain-gradient theory for one-dimensional continua
  
  • Thbaut Manon
  • Audoly Basile
  • Lestringant Claire
  Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Elsevier, 2026, 206, pp.106392. (10.1016/j.jmps.2025.106392)
  DOI : 10.1016/j.jmps.2025.106392