Strain or deformation rate dependent finite growth in soft tissues.

The particular portion of the mechanical loading history of a tissue that serves as stimulus for growth or remodeling of that tissue is presently unknown. A kinematic basis for the implementation of strain or rate of deformation as a growth stimulus is presented. It is shown here that a recently proposed continuum theory for finite volumetric growth in soft tissue may be extended to include strain and rate of deformation as growth stimuli. The basis of the presentation is the recognition of two different time scales in the remodeling process, one on the order of seconds associated with the loading, and one on the order of weeks or months associated with the growth.