Abstract
In order to develop a brain spatula or a brain retractor made of a shape memory alloy (SMA), the bending fatigue characteristics of the brain spatula of TINi SMA made by the precision casting were discussed. The results obtained can be summarized as follows. (1) At the room temperature, the fatigue life in pulsating-plane bending is longer than that in alternating-plane bending. (2) Relationship between dissipated work W_d and number of cycles to failure N_f can be expressed by one power function for alternating- and pulsating-plane bendings. (3) The above mentioned characteristics of the SMA-brain spatula obtained in this study can be substantially applied to the development not only for the brain spatula but also for other retractors and instruments used in other surgery operations.
