Abstract. We present an algorithmical concept for modeling and simulation with partial differential equations (PDEs) in image based computing where the computational geometry is defined through previously segmented image data. Such problems occur in applications from biology and medicine where the underlying image data has been acquired through e. g. computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or electron microscopy (EM). Based on a level-set description of the computational domain, our approach is capable of automatically providing suitable composite finite element functions that resolve the complicated shapes in the medical/biological data set. It is efficient in the sense that the traversal of the grid (and thus assembling matrices for finite element computations) inherits the efficiency of uniform grids away from complicated structures. The method's efficiency heavily depends on precomputed lookup tables in the vicinity of the domain boundary or interface. A suitable multigrid method is used for an efficient solution of the systems of equations resulting from the composite finite element discretization. The paper focuses on both algorithmical and implementational details. Scalar and vector valued model problems as well as real applications underline the usability of our approach.

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