Measurement of the force–displacement response of in vivo human skin under a rich set of deformations
Type
ArticleKAUST Grant Number
KUK-C1-013-04Date
2011-06Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/598781
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The non-linear, anisotropic, and viscoelastic properties of human skin vary according to location on the body, age, and individual. The measurement of skin's mechanical properties is important in several fields including medicine, cosmetics, and forensics. In this study, a novel force-sensitive micro-robot applied a rich set of three-dimensional deformations to the skin surface of different areas of the arms of 20 volunteers. The force-displacement response of each area in different directions was measured. All tested areas exhibited a non-linear, viscoelastic, and anisotropic force-displacement response. There was a wide quantitative variation in the stiffness of the response. For the right anterior forearm, the ratio of the maximum probe reaction force to maximum probe displacement ranged from 0.44Nmm-1 to 1.45Nmm-1. All volunteers exhibited similar qualitative anisotropic characteristics. For the anterior right forearm, the stiffest force-displacement response was when the probe displaced along the longitudinal axis of the forearm. The response of the anterior left forearm was stiffest in a direction 20° to the longitudinal axis of the forearm. The posterior upper arm was stiffest in a direction 90° to the longitudinal axis of the arm. The averaged posterior upper arm response was less stiff than the averaged anterior forearm response. The maximum probe force at 1.3mm probe displacement was 0.69N for the posterior upper arm and 1.1N for the right anterior forearm. The average energy loss during the loading-unloading cycle ranged from 11.9% to 34.2%. This data will be very useful for studying the non-linear, anisotropic, and viscoelastic behaviour of skin and also for generating material parameters for appropriate constitutive models. © 2011 IPEM.Citation
Flynn C, Taberner A, Nielsen P (2011) Measurement of the force–displacement response of in vivo human skin under a rich set of deformations. Medical Engineering & Physics 33: 610–619. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2010.12.017.Sponsors
This work was supported by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, through grants NERF 139400 and NERF 9077/3608892. This publication is also based on work supported in part by Award No. KUK-C1-013-04, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Medical Engineering & PhysicsPubMed ID
21242096ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.medengphy.2010.12.017
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