Mechanical impedance of rat glabrous skin and its relation with skin morphometry

Gök, Ç. , Devecioğlu, İ. and Güçlü, B. (2022) Mechanical impedance of rat glabrous skin and its relation with skin morphometry. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 144(2), 021001. (doi: 10.1115/1.4052225) (PMID:34423811)

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Abstract

The mechanical impedance of intact and epidermis-peeled rat glabrous skin was studied at two sites (digit and sole) and at two frequencies (40 Hz and 250 Hz). The thicknesses of skin layers at the corresponding regions were measured histologically from intact- and peeled-skin samples in every subject. Compared to intact sole skin, digital rat skin has thicker layers and higher mechanical resistance, and it is less stiff. The resistance of the skin significantly decreased after epidermal peeling at both the digit and the sole. Furthermore, peeling caused the reactance to become positive due to inertial effects. As the frequency was increased from 40 to 250 Hz, the resistance and stiffness also increased for the intact skin, while the peeled skin showed less frictional (i.e., resistance) but more inertial (i.e., positive reactance) effects. We estimated the mechanical properties of epidermis and dermis with lumped-element models developed for both intact and peeled conditions. The models predicted that dermis has higher mass, lower stiffness, and lower resistance compared to epidermis, similar to the experimental impedance results obtained in the peeled condition which consisted mostly of dermis. The overall impedance was simulated more successfully at 40 Hz. When both frequencies are considered, the models produced consistent results for resistance in both conditions. The results imply that most of the model parameters should be frequency-dependent and suggest that mechanical properties of epidermis can be related to its thickness. These findings may help in designing artificial skin for neuroprosthetic limbs.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Gok, Dr Caglar
Authors: Gök, Ç., Devecioğlu, İ., and Güçlü, B.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health
Journal Name:Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
Publisher:American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ISSN:0148-0731
ISSN (Online):1528-8951
Published Online:21 September 2021

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