Fine-grained Delaunay triangulation in a simulation of tumor spheroid growth

Abstract

The simulation of many-particle systems often requires the detailed knowledge of proximity relations to reduce computational complexity and to provide a basis for specific calculations. Here we describe the basic scheme of a simulator of tumor spheroid growth: the calculation of mechanical interactions between cells and of the concentrations of diffusing chemicals requires a backbone provided by the Delaunay triangulation and the volumes of the associated Voronoi regions. Thus the Delaunay triangulation provides both the proximity relations needed to reduce the computational complexity and the basic structures that are needed to carry out the calculation of the biochemical interactions between cells and with the enviroment. A 3D version of the simulator uses the CGAL library as an essential component for the efficient computation of the Delaunay triangulation and of the Voronoi regions.