Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Developing a bio-mechanotronic probing system for estimating soft tissue Young’s modulus in vivo

  • Physical Instruments for Ecology, Medicine, and Biology
  • Published:
Instruments and Experimental Techniques Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In many medical applications such as rehabilitation, clinical palpation, and manipulation of organs, it is important to characterize soft-tissue properties accurately. This paper presents a bio-mechatronic probing system that could be used for estimating soft tissue Young’s modulus in vivo. The system employs an electromagnetic spatial displacement sensor. The accuracy and reliability of the system were investigated. In addition, the effect of indentation rate on the variation of the values of the measured effective Young’s modulus was also studied. A series of elastomers with different Young’s modulus (ranged from 13.08 to 36.19 kPa) were assessed with both the probing system and a Hounsfield material testing machine. Intra-individual and inter-individual variations of the system were tested by five independent operators. The probing system was applied to assess the effective Young’s modulus of human body parts in vivo. Fifteen healthy female subjects with age of 22.5 ± 4.3 years old were included for the in vivo test. The system was shown to be highly accurate (R 2 = 0.995) in comparison with the results obtained by the mechanical testing machine and had good reliability (intra-individual variation = 5.43%, inter-individual variation = 5.99%). The average effective Young’s modules of the region of umbilicus were 13.33 and 10.71 kPa for two different sites, respectively. Based on the results obtained, it is believed that this probing system was an accurate and reliable tool for rapidly assessing the mechanical properties of human body tissues in vivo.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Li, Y., Zhang, X., and Yeung, K.W., A 3D Biomechanical Model for Numerical Simulation of Dynamic Mechanical Interactions of Bra and Breast during Wear, Sen. J. Gakkaishi, 2003, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 12–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Yu, W., Fan, J.T., Qian, X.M., and Tao, X.M., A Soft Mannequin for the Evaluation of Pressure Garments on Human Body, Sen. J. Gakkaishi, 2004, vol. 60, no. 2, pp. 57–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Hayes, W.C., Keer, L.M., Herrmann, G., and Mockros, L.F., A Mathematical Analysis for Indentation Tests of Articular Cartilage, J. Biomech., 1972, vol. 5, pp. 541–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Zeugert, J.C. and Lewis, J.L., In vivo Mechanical Properties of Soft Tissue Covering Bony Prominences, Trans. ASME, J. Biomech. Eng., 1978, vol. 100, pp. 194–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bader, D.L. and Bowker, P., Mechanical Characteristics of Skin and Underlying Tissues in vivo, Biomaterials, 1983, vol. 4, pp. 305–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Mak, A.F.T., Liu, G.H.W., and Lee, S., Biomechanical Assessment of Below-Knee Residual Limb Tissue, J. Rehab. Res. Dev., 1994, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 188–198.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Leung, S.F., Zheng, Y.P., Choi, C.Y.K., Mak, S.S.S., Chiu, S.K.W., Zee, B., and Mak, A.F.T., Quantitative Measurement of Post-Irradiation Neck Fibrosis Based on the Young Modulus, Cancer, 2002, vol. 93, pp. 656–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Klaesner, J.W., Commean, P.K., Hastings, M.K., Zou, D., and Mueller, M.J., Accuracy and Reliability Testing of a Portable Soft Tissue Indentor, IEEE Trans. Rehab. Eng., 2001, vol. 9, pp. 232–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Newton, P.M., Mow, V.C., Gardner, T.R., Buckwalter, J.A., and Albright, J.P., The Effect of Lifelong Exercise on Canine Articular Cartilage, AM. J. Sport Med., 1997, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 282–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Shepherd, D.E.T. and Seedhom, B.B., Technique for Measuring the Compressive Modulus of Articular Cartilage Under Physiological Loading Rates with Preliminary Results, P. I. Mech. Eng., Ser. H, 1997, vol. 211, no. 2, pp. 155–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Bader, D.L. and Bowker, P., Mechanical Characteristics of Skin and Underlying Tissues in vivo, Biomaterials, 1983, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 305–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Horikawa, M., Ebihara, S., Sakai, F., and Akiyama, M., Non-Invasive Measurement Method for Hardness in Muscular Tissues, Med. Biol. Eng. Computing, 1993, vol. 31, pp. 623–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Han, L.H., Noble, J.A., and Burcher, M., A Novel Ultrasound Indentation System for Measuring Biomechanical Properties of in vivo Soft Tissue, Ultrasound Med. Biol., 2003, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 813–823.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Bland, J.M. and Altman, D.G., Statistical Methods for Assessing Agreement between Two Methods of Clinical Measurement, Lancet, 1986, pp. 307–310.

  15. Appleyard, R.C., Swain, M.V., Khanna, S., and Murrell, G.A.C., The Accuracy and Reliability of a Novel Handheld Dynamic Indentation Probe for Analyzing Articular Cartilage, Phys. Med. Biol., 2001, vol. 46, pp. 541–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Ophir, J., Alam, S.K., Garra, B., Kallel, F., Konofagou, E., Krouskop, T., and Varghese, T., Elastography: Ultrasonic Estimation and Imaging of the Elastic Properties of tissues, J. Eng. Med., 1999, vol. 213, pp. 203–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Mutah University, Karak, 61710, Jordan

    Talal Alja’afreh

Authors
  1. Talal Alja’afreh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Talal Alja’afreh.

Additional information

The article is published in the original.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Alja’afreh, T. Developing a bio-mechanotronic probing system for estimating soft tissue Young’s modulus in vivo. Instrum Exp Tech 54, 131–135 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0020441211010027

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0020441211010027

Keywords

Search

Navigation