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A Camera-Based Experimental Method for Mechanical Test on Patellar Tendons

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Mechanics of Biological Systems and Materials, Volume 7

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Abstract

Tendons have an important structural function in biological systems, their mechanical proprieties are therefore of great interest in biomechanics engineering and reconstructive medicine. Their physiological characteristics require the study of specific experimental methods able to determine the mechanical properties.

In this work the authors propose a non-contact experimental method aimed to the characterization of the mechanical proprieties of rabbit patellar tendons based on the use of a single camera and a customized gripping system. The tensile test setup makes use of a fixed lens camera and a customized algorithm, providing the measurement of the local sample strain on different part along the tendon and of the cross-sectional area. The tensile stress is estimated by the value of the applied load and of the cross-section value of the sample; tensile stress values are calculated at a frequency of 8 Hz. Moreover a special design of the clamps and the use of the camera allow to protect the experimental tests from the well-known problem of peak force concentrations on the sample and slipping at its extremities, which indeed are typical problems in tensile testing of tendons.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Prof. Enrico Primo Tomasini for supporting the research activity, dott. Alessandro Scalise and his medical team for sample dissection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale e Scienze Matematiche (DIISM), Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche 1, 60131, Ancona, Italy

    Lorenzo Scalise, Barbara Lonzi & Natascia Bernacchia

Authors
  1. Lorenzo Scalise
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  2. Barbara Lonzi
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  3. Natascia Bernacchia
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lorenzo Scalise .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Mechanical Engg, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Francois Barthelat

  2. Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    Chad Korach

  3. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA

    Pablo Zavattieri

  4. Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA

    Barton C. Prorok

  5. Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

    K. Jane Grande-Allen

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© 2015 The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc.

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Scalise, L., Lonzi, B., Bernacchia, N. (2015). A Camera-Based Experimental Method for Mechanical Test on Patellar Tendons. In: Barthelat, F., Korach, C., Zavattieri, P., Prorok, B., Grande-Allen, K. (eds) Mechanics of Biological Systems and Materials, Volume 7. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06974-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06974-6_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-06973-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-06974-6

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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