Title :
A device to measure the cross-sectional area of soft connective tissues
Author :
Vanderby, Ray, Jr. ; Masters, Gene P. ; Bowers, James R. ; Graf, B.K.
Author_Institution :
Wisconsin Univ., Madison, WI, USA
Abstract :
A device has been designed and fabricated to measure the cross-sectional area of soft connective tissues ex vivo. It consists of two displacement transducers: one sensing tissue thickness and the other sensing width. Outputs are recorded (via an analog to digital interface) using a personal computer. Numerical integration of a thickness versus width plot computes cross-sectional area. This plot also provides a quality check of acquired data. The data were successfully used in biomechanical studies of rabbit patellar tendons, rat medial collateral ligaments, and dissected specimens of human fascia.
Keywords :
area measurement; biological techniques and instruments; biomechanics; analog to digital interface; biomechanical studies; cross-sectional area measurement; displacement transducers; dissected specimens; human fascia; numerical integration; personal computer; quality check; rabbit patellar tendons; rat medial collateral ligaments; soft connective tissues; tissue thickness; tissue width; Area measurement; Arm; Biological materials; Biological tissues; Biomedical measurements; Electrical capacitance tomography; Instruments; Ligaments; Testing; Transducers; Anthropometry; Connective Tissue; Equipment Design; Reproducibility of Results;
Journal_Title :
Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on
