Tissue repair unfolds as a race between stem/progenitor cell proliferation rebuilding structure and ongoing inflammation that can either help clear damage or, left unchecked, slow the healing front.
height(t+1) = height(t) + growthFactor*proliferation - inflammation*damage
- Wound grid resolution — how finely the injury site is subdivided to track local regrowth.
- Healing target coverage — the tissue height fraction that counts as a fully closed, remodeled wound.
- Growth factor dose — concentration of proliferative signals (FGF, PDGF, VEGF) driving stem/progenitor cell division.
- Inflammation level — ongoing immune activity that both clears debris and, if excessive, damages regenerating tissue.
Regenerative medicine (skin grafts seeded with growth factors, salamander-limb-inspired blastema research) is essentially engineering this exact growth-versus-inflammation balance to close wounds faster with less scarring.