Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterization of the viscoelastic model of in vivo human posterior thigh skin using ramp-relaxation indentation test

  • Published:
Korea-Australia Rheology Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Characterization of viscoelastic properties of the human thigh skin can be utilized in many medical or engineering applications such as a surgical extension of the thigh skin, a tissue engineering, and a finite element modeling of thigh skin in a sitting posture. This study aims to determine the effective short- and long-term shear moduli of posterior thigh skin using ramp-relaxation test in a sitting posture. The effect of indentation location, the sitting posture, and the applied load (thigh weight) were investigated on the extracted effective shear moduli. We modeled the human skin by using the one- and two-term Prony series, and it was found that the generalized Maxwell model with two-term Prony series agreed well with experimental data. The effective shear moduli (short- and long-term) were extracted by fitting the total reaction force of the generalized Maxwell model to the experimental data using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. The contour maps were used to show the spatial dependency of the effective shear moduli at the flat regions of posterior thigh skin. The contour maps of effective shear moduli show that maximum effective shear moduli locate near buttock’s center, while minimum effective shear moduli locate at the distal and medial posterior thigh. It is also found that the extracted effective short-term shear modulus varies between 3978.2 N/m2 and 13699.2 N/m2. On the other hand, the extracted effective long-term shear modulus differs between 2715.1 N/m2 and 9194.3 N/m2 for different sitting postures. Additionally, it is found that the observed increase in effective shear moduli could be attributed to the increase applied load, and leg angle.

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

  • Alexander H. and T.H. Cook, 1977, Accounting for natural in the mechanical testing of human skin, J. Invest. Dermatol. 69, 310–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bader D.L. and Bowker, P., 1983, Mechanical characteristics of skin and underlying tissues in vivo, Biomaterials. 4, 305–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bae J.E. and K.S. Cho, 2016, A systematic approximation of discrete relaxation time spectrum from the continuous spectrum, J. Non–Newton. Fluid. Mech. 235, 64–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumgaertel M. and H.H. Winter, 1989, Determination of discrete relaxation and retardation time spectra from dynamic mechanical data, Rheol. Acta. 28, 511–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benítez J.M. and F.J. Montáns, 2017, The mechanical behavior of skin: structures and models for the finite element analysis, Comput. Struct. 190, 75–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bückle H., 1973, The Science of Hardness Testing and Its Research Applications, American Society for Metals, Ohio. 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C.–Y., C.–A. Yu, T.–F. Hong, Y.–L. Chung, and W.–L. Li, 2015, Contact and frictional properties of stratum corneum of human skin, Biosurf. Biotribol. 1, 62–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho K.S., 2016, Viscoelasticity of Polymers: Theory and Numerical Algorithms, Springer, Dordrecht.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cho K.S., M.K. Kwon, J. Lee, and S. Kim, 2017, Mathematical analysis on linear viscoelastic identification, Korea–Aust. Rheol. J. 29, 249–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delalleau A., G. Josse, J.M. Lagarde, H. Zahouani, and J.M. Bergheau, 2008, A nonlinear elastic behavior to identify the mechanical parameters of human skin in vivo, Skin Res. Technol. 14, 152–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Escoffier C., J. de Rigal, A. Rochefort, R. Vasselet, J.–L. Leveque, and P.G. Agache, 1989, Age–related mechanical properties of human skin: An in vivo study, J. Invest. Dermatol. 93, 353–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn C., A. Taberner, and P. Nielsen, 2011, Mechanical characterisation of in vivo human skin using a 3D force–sensitive micro–robot and finite element analysis, Biomech. Model. Mechanobiol. 10, 27–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn C., A.J. Taberner, P.M.F. Nielsen, and S. Fels, 2013, Simulating the three–dimensional deformation of in vivo facial skin, J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater. 28, 484–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriel V. and K. Kowalske, 2015, Measurement of change in the mechanical properties of burned skin to therapist intervention with a vacuum device, Burns. 41, 796–802.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giavazzi S., M.F. Ganatea, M. Trkov, P. Šuštarič, and T. Rodic, 2010, Inverse determination of viscoelastic properties of human fingertip skin, RMZ Mater. Geoenviron. 57, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin M., Y. Premakumar, A. Seifalian, P.E. Butler, and M. Szarko, 2016, Biomechanical characterization of human soft tissues using indentation and tensile testing, J. Vis. Exp. 118, 54872.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grujicic, M., B. Pandurangan, G. Arakere, W.C. Bell, T. He, and X. Xie, 2009, Seat–cushion and soft–tissue material modeling and a finite element investigation of the seating comfort for passenger–vehicle occupants, Mater. Design. 30, 4273–4285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendriks F.M., D. Brokken, C.W.J. Oomens, D.L. Bader, and F.P.T. Baaijens, 2006, The relative contributions of different skin layers to the mechanical behavior of human skin in vivo using suction experiments, Med. Eng. Phys. 28, 259–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isaza J. and J. Ramirez, 2015, Incidence of temperature and indenter diameter on the mechanical response of skin during indentation test, Procedia Eng. 110, 45–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jachowicz J., R. Mcmullen, and D. Prettypaul, 2007, Indentometric analysis of in vivo skin and comparison with artificial skin models, Skin Res. Technol. 13, 299–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacquet E., J. Chambert, J. Pauchot, and P. Sandoz, 2017, Intraand inter–individual variability in the mechanical properties of the human skin from in vivo measurements on 20 volunteers, Skin Res. Technol. 23, 491–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jain S.M., K. Pandey, A. Lahoti, and P.K. Rao, 2013, Evaluation of skin and subcutaneous tissue thickness at insulin injection sites in Indian, insulin naïve, type–2 diabetic adult population, Indian J. Endocr. Metab. 17, 864–870.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jor J.W., M.D. Parker, A.J. Taberner, M.P. Nash, and P.M. Nielsen, 2013, Computational and experimental characterization of skin mechanics: Identifying current challenges and future directions, Wiley Interdiscip. Rev. Syst. Biol. Med. 5, 539–556.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang M.J. and H.H. Yoo, 2017, In vivo viscoelastic properties of human thigh under compression estimated by experimental results obtained with pendulum test, Int. J. Precis. Eng. Man. 18, 1253–1262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kearney S.P., A. Khan, Z. Dai, and T.J. Royston, 2015, Dynamic viscoelastic models of human skin using optical elastography, Phys. Med. Biol. 60, 6975–6990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koo T.K. and F. Hug, 2015, Factors that influence muscle shear modulus during passive stretch, J. Biomech. 48, 3539–3542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee E.H. and J.R.M. Radok, 1960, The contact problem for viscoelastic bodies, J. Appl. Mech. 27, 438–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li X., L. Ding, X. Ma, B. Li, and H. Liu, 2017, Development of a human–seat cushion finite element model for sitting comfort analysis, International Conference on Human–Computer Interaction, Vancouver.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lima K.M.M.E., J.F.S. Costa Júnior, W.C.A. Pereira, and L.F. de Oliveira, 2018, Assessment of the mechanical properties of the muscle–tendon unit by supersonic shear wave imaging elastography: A review, Ultrasonography 37, 3–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maurel W., Y. Wu, D. Thalmann, and N.M. Thalmann, 1998, Biomechanical Models for Soft Tissue Simulation, Springer, Berlin.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mayah A.A., 2018, Biomechanics of Soft Tissues: Principles and Applications, CRC Press, Boca Raton.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mazza E., O. Papes, M.B. Rubin, S.R. Bodner, and N.S. Binur, 2005, Nonlinear elastic–viscoplastic constitutive equations for aging facial tissues, Biomech. Model. Mechanobiol. 4, 178–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohamed A. and M.M. Xing, 2012, Nanomaterials and nanotechnology for skin tissue engineering, Int. J. Burns Trauma. 2, 29–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ní Annaidh, A., K. Bruyère, M. Destrade, M.D. Gilchrist, and M. Otténio, 2012, Characterization of the anisotropic mechanical properties of excised human skin, J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater. 5, 139–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pailler–Mattei C., S. Bec, and H. Zahouani, 2008, In vivo measurements of the elastic mechanical properties of human skin by indentation tests, Med. Eng. Phys. 30, 599–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker M.D., L.A. Jones, I.W. Hunter, A. Taberner, M. Nash, and P. Nielsen, 2017, Multidirectional in vivo characterization of skin using wiener nonlinear stochastic system identification techniques, J. Biomech. Eng. 139, 011004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandby–Moller J., T. Poulsen, and H.C. Wulf, 2003, Epidermal thickness at different body sites: Relationship to age, gender, pigmentation, blood content, skin type and smoking habits, Acta Derm. Venereol. 83, 410–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sneddon I.N., 1965, The relation between load and penetration in the axisymmetric Boussinesq problem for a punch of arbitrary profile, Int. J. Eng. Sci. 3, 47–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tadini K.A., D.G. Mercurio, and P.M.B.G.M. Campos, 2015, Acetyl hexapeptide–3 in a cosmetic formulation acts on skin mechanical properties–clinical study, Braz. J. Pharm. Sci. 51, 901–909.1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Kuilenburg, J., M.A. Masen, and E. van der Heide, 2013, Contact modelling of human skin: What value to use for the modulus of elasticity?, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part J J. Eng. Tribol. 227, 349–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weickenmeier J. and M. Jabareen, 2014, Elastic–viscoplastic modeling of soft biological tissues using a mixed finite element formulation based on the relative deformation gradient, Int. J. Numer. Methods. Biomed. Eng. 30, 1238–1262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J.Z., R.G. Dong, W.P. Smutz, and A.W. Schopper, 2003, Nonlinear and viscoelastic characteristics of skin under compression: Experiment and analysis, Bio–Med. Mater. Eng. 13, 373–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu T., A. Hung, and K. Mithraratne, 2014, Generating facial expressions using an anatomically accurate biomechanical model, IEEE. Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph. 20, 1519–1529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou B., F. Xu, C. Chen, and T. Lu, 2010, Strain rate sensitivity of skin tissue under thermomechanical loading, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 368, 679–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea

    Seyed Jamaleddin Mostafavi Yazdi & Namcheol Kang

  2. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Applied Chemical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea

    Kwang Soo Cho

Authors
  1. Seyed Jamaleddin Mostafavi Yazdi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kwang Soo Cho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Namcheol Kang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Namcheol Kang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yazdi, S.J.M., Cho, K.S. & Kang, N. Characterization of the viscoelastic model of in vivo human posterior thigh skin using ramp-relaxation indentation test. Korea-Aust. Rheol. J. 30, 293–307 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13367-018-0027-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13367-018-0027-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation