Soft Tissue Biomechanics | ZHAW Institute of Mechanical Systems IMES

The field soft tissue biomechanics focuses on the mechanics of soft biological tissues and biomedical materials and structures. It is the newest research field within the Technical Focus Biomechanical Engineering and is currently under development.

Methodologies

Multi-scale experiments for mechanical characterization of microstructure-based materials (biological tissues, textiles, etc.) - (Figures 1, 2)
Experimental continuum mechanics for the evaluation and analysis of local deformations using digital image correlation (DIC) - (Figures 1-3)
Computational modeling for structural analyses at different length scales - (Figure 2)

Objectives

Derive criteria for the evaluation of the mechanical biocompatibility of biomedical materials and structures - (Figure 1, 4)
Explore the mechanobiology of biomedical materials and structures, i.e. the interplay between mechanics and cell behavior
Develop standardized protocols for the mechanical evaluation of soft biomedical materials (implant materials, scaffolds for tissue engineering, etc.) - (Figure 1, 4)

Figure 1 Digital image correlation: setup for uniaxial stress tests on polymeric membranes: local strain analysis is done by digital image correlation (DIC)

Figure 2 Experimental analyses and computational modeling: a) experimental setup for planar tension testing using a system for digital image correlation (DIC), b) soft solid liquid composite sample, c,d) experimental e),f) numerical local strain distribution at 10% global nominal strain

Figure 3 Unconventional test-setups: setup for organ insufflation tests: a porcine kidney is insufflated with physiological solution; the pressure in the organ is measured for controlled insufflated volumes.

Figure 4 Mechanical biocompatibility and mechanobiology of pelvic floor meshes: a) anatomy of the female pelvic floor with a representative mesh implantation site (blue), b) representative shape of a pelvic floor mesh; c) while current meshes are mainly large porous polypropylene meshes, this research aims at new nanofibrous materials.

Projects

As part of the reorganization of the research database, the previous lists of research projects are no longer available. Die Zukunft geht in Richtung Volltextsuche und Filterung, um bestmögliche Suchergebnisse für unsere Besucher:innen zur Verfügung zu stellen.
In the meantime, you can easily find the projects via text search using the following link: «To the new search in the project database»

Publications

Cauquil, Eléonore; Kiener, Luca; Hofmann, Jonas; Spano, Fabrizio; Röhrnbauer, Barbara,

2023.

A combined experimental and numerical method for tailoring the multi-scale mechanical properties of soft solid liquid composites [poster].

In:

33rd Annual Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB), Davos, Switzerland, 4-8 September 2023.

ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-30272
Röhrnbauer, Barbara,

2023.

Mechanical properties of pelvic implants : interaction between implants and tissue

.

In:

Brieu, Mathias; Cosson, Michel; Nielsen, Poul, eds.,

Biomechanics of the Female Reproductive System: Breast and Pelvic Organs.

Academic Press.

pp. 247-272.

Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-823403-7.00021-X