A rigid body framework for multi-cellular modelling

Abstract

ABSTRACT Multi-cellular modelling, where tissues and organs are represented by a collection of individual interacting agents, is a well established field, encapsulating several different approaches. In particular, off-lattice models, which represent cells using points that are free to move in space, have been applied to numerous biological problems in both two and three dimensions. The fact that a cell can be represented by point objects is useful in a wide range of settings, particularly when large populations are involved. However, a purely point-based representation is not naturally equipped to deal with objects that inherently have length like cell boundaries or external membranes. In t..