title: Numerical investigation into blood clotting at the bone-dental implant interface in the presence of an electrical stimulus.
abstract: The insertion of a dental implant activates a sequence of wound healing events ending with bone formation and implant osseointegration. This sequence starts with the blood coagulation process and the formation of a fibrin network that detains spilt blood. Fibrin formation can be simplified as the kinetic reaction between thrombin and fibrinogen preceding the conversion of fibrinogen into fibrin. Based on experimental observations of the electrical properties of these molecules, we present a hypothesis for the mechanism of a static electrical stimulus in controlling the formation of the blood clot. Specifically, the electrical stimulus increases the fibrin network formation in such a way that a preferential region of higher fibrin density is obtained. This hypothesis is validated by means of a numerical model for the blood clot formation at the bone-dental implant interface. Numerical results compare favorably to experimental observations for blood clotting with and without the static electrical stimulus. It is concluded that the density of the fibrin network depends on the strength of the static electrical stimulus, and that the blood clot formation has a preferential direction of formation in the presence of the electrical signal.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Modelado Matemático y Métodos Numéricos GNUM-UN, Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica y Mecatrónica, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Ciudad Universitaria, Bogotá, Colombia; Electromagnetics Group, Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5612AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.c.vanegas.acosta@tue.nl.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Vanegas-Acosta
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Garzón-Alvarado
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lancellotti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000378:metabolism*; D015921:Dental Implants; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants
keywords: Blood clotting; Dental implant; Electrical stimulation; Mathematical model