2023 Volume 8 Pages 100-105
Abstract: A quantitative evaluation of the mechanical properties of the human body is significant in the medical and nursing care fields in Japan, owing to the super-aging population. Here, the material properties of the soft tissues of the skin were investigated to prevent pressure ulcers caused by positional immobilization owing to surgery and bedridden conditions. A rheometer and cutometer were used to measure the viscoelasticity of the skin on the arms of three males in their twenties and three soft tissue substitute materials (urethane resin, gelatin, and silicone rubber). The results obtained were analyzed and compared to develop a simple and quantitative whole-body mechanical property measurement technique. The ratios of the viscous to elastic parameters obtained using the instruments were compared. The trends for all materials were consistent. Higher correlations were observed for the rheometer loss tangent tan δ ( loss modulus G" / storage modulus G' ) with the viscoelastic index R parameter of the cutometer having a correlation coefficient r ≥ 0.9. The tan δ of the rheometer can be estimated from the R6 ( = ratio of viscoelastic to elastic extension ) of the cutometer if the time at which the displacement of both measurements occurs is the same.
