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Characterization of a Digital Image Correlation System for Dynamic Strain Measurements of Small Biological Tissues

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Abstract

Digital image correlation (DIC) is an optical technique for contactless displacement and strain measurement recently applied to biological tissues. We characterized a DIC system for small biological specimens based on a high speed camera, a stereomicroscope, and an original image correlation algorithm. Optical features have been evaluated calculating the optical distortion and the modulation transfer function. The accuracy of the DIC algorithm used here has been assessed employing an elastic specimen subjected to known amount of strains, and has been compared with accuracies obtained in the same way using two other algorithms. For strain values up to 25 %, that is within the typical strain range for biological tissues, and for magnifications up to 6.3×, our DIC algorithm was able to compute strains with a relative error lower than 1 %. The accuracies obtained with the elastic specimen were then confirmed performing DIC analysis on mouse skin samples subjected to controlled strains.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Professor G. Broggiato for writing the original correlation algorithm we modified and used in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, SAPIENZA University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184, Rome, Italy

    E. Rizzuto, S. Carosio & Z. Del Prete

  2. Institute Pasteur Cenci-Bolognetti, DAHFMO-Unit of Histology and Medical Embryology, SAPIENZA University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    S. Carosio

  3. Center for Life Nano Science@Sapienza, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy

    Z. Del Prete

Authors
  1. E. Rizzuto
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  2. S. Carosio
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  3. Z. Del Prete
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Correspondence to E. Rizzuto.

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Rizzuto, E., Carosio, S. & Del Prete, Z. Characterization of a Digital Image Correlation System for Dynamic Strain Measurements of Small Biological Tissues. Exp Tech 40, 743–753 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40799-016-0075-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40799-016-0075-z

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