Dwivedi Krashn Kumar, Lakhani Piyush, Kumar Sachin, Kumar Navin
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, India.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, India.
R Soc Open Sci. 2022 Mar 23;9(3):211301. doi: 10.1098/rsos.211301. eCollection 2022 Mar.
During surgical treatment skin undergoes extensive deformation, hence it must be able to withstand large mechanical stresses without damage. Therefore, understanding the mechanical properties of skin becomes important. A detailed investigation on the relationship between the three-dimensional deformation response of skin and its microstructure is conducted in the current study. This study also discloses the underlying science of skin viscoelasticity. Deformation response of skin is captured using digital image correlation, whereas micro-CT, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy are used for microstructure analysis. Skin shows a large lateral contraction and expansion (auxeticity) when stretched parallel and perpendicular to the skin tension lines, respectively. Large lateral contraction is a result of fluid exudation from the tissue, while large rotation of the stiff collagen fibres in the loading direction explains the skin auxeticity. During stress relaxation, lateral contraction and fluid effluxion from skin reveal that tissue volume loss is the intrinsic science of skin viscoelasticity. Furthermore, the results obtained from study on human skin show the relevance of the study to physiological conditions and stretching of the skin during its treatments.
在外科治疗过程中，皮肤会经历广泛的变形，因此它必须能够承受较大的机械应力而不被损坏。所以，了解皮肤的力学性能变得很重要。当前研究对皮肤的三维变形响应与其微观结构之间的关系进行了详细调查。该研究还揭示了皮肤粘弹性的潜在科学原理。使用数字图像相关技术捕捉皮肤的变形响应，而微计算机断层扫描、扫描电子显微镜和原子力显微镜则用于微观结构分析。当分别平行和垂直于皮肤张力线拉伸时，皮肤会出现较大的横向收缩和扩张（负泊松比效应）。较大的横向收缩是组织中液体渗出的结果，而刚性胶原纤维在加载方向上的较大旋转解释了皮肤的负泊松比效应。在应力松弛过程中，皮肤的横向收缩和液体流出表明组织体积损失是皮肤粘弹性的内在科学原理。此外，对人体皮肤的研究结果表明该研究与生理状况以及皮肤在治疗过程中的拉伸具有相关性。
