Soft tissues indentation

Lake SP, Hald ES, Barocas VH (2011) Collagen-agarose co-gels as a model for collagen-matrix interaction in soft tissues subjected to indentation. J Biomed Mater Res A 99A 507-515... 

Ziegert and Lewis [9] measured the in vivo indentation properties of the soft tissues covering the anterior-medial tibiae. A preload of 22.4 N was used with indentors of 6 to 25 mm in diameter. The observed load displacement relationship were essentially linearly elastic. The structural stiffness was noted to vary by up to 70% between sites in one individual and up to 300% between individuals. Unfortunately, the thicknesses of overlying tissues were not determined at the different sites for the individuals studied. 

Bader and Bowker [1] studied the in vivo indentation properties of soft tissues on the anterior aspects of human forearms and thighs by applying constant pressures of 11.7 and 7 kPa respectively. Tissue thickness was measured by using a skinfold caliper and Poisson s rato was assumed to be 0.3. With these data, the stiffness of forearm and thigh tissue were calculated to be, respectively, 1.99 and 1,51 kPa. 

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