Characterization and modeling of a thermoplastic elastomer tissue simulant under uniaxial compression loading for a wide range of strain rates.

Characterization and modeling of the mechanical behavior of biological tissues are critical to many biomedical related applications. For research and development, various soft materials have often been used as a tissue substitute. Among them, the mineral oil-based synthetic polymer styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) gel has gained some popularity due to its superior mechanical and physical properties.

Predictive mechanics-based model for depth of cut (DOC) of waterjet in soft tissue for waterjet-assisted medical applications.

The use of waterjet technology is now prevalent in medical applications including surgery, soft tissue resection, bone cutting, waterjet steerable needles, and wound debridement. The depth of the cut (DOC) of a waterjet in soft tissue is an important parameter that should be predicted in these applications. For instance, for waterjet-assisted surgery, selective cutting of tissue layers is a must to avoid damage to deeper tissue layers.

A review of technological and clinical aspects of robot-aided rehabilitation of upper-extremity after stroke.

Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and loss of motor function. Millions of people around the world are effected by it each year. Stroke results in disabled arm function.