Abstract
In order to develop a brain spatula made of shape memory alloy (SMA), the mechanical characteristics of copper and TiNi SMA used for the brain spatula were compared based on the tensile deformation properties, and the dimensions of the SMA-brain spatula were discussed. The fatigue properties of both materials were investigated by the alternating-plane bending test. If the thickness of the rolled-SMA spatula is 1.9 times and that of the casted-SMA spatula is 1.2 times as large as that of the copper spatula, the SMA-brain spatula can be bent by the same force as the case of the copper spatula. The fatigue life of the SMAs is longer than that of copper.
