Methodology for dynamic biaxial tension testing of pregnant uterine tissue.

Placental abruption accounts for 50% to 70% of fetal losses in motor vehicle crashes. Since automobile crashes are the leading cause of traumatic fetal injury mortality in the United States, research of this injury mechanism is important. Before research can adequately evaluate current and future restraint designs, a detailed model of the pregnant uterine tissues is necessary. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for testing the pregnant uterus in biaxial tension at a rate normally seen in a motor vehicle crash. Since the majority of previous biaxial work has established methods for quasi-static testing, this paper combines previous research and new methods to develop a custom designed system to strain the tissue at a dynamic rate. Load cells and optical markers are used for calculating stress strain curves of the perpendicular loading axes. Results for this methodology show images of a tissue specimen loaded and a finite verification of the optical strain measurement. The biaxial test system dynamically pulls the tissue to failure with synchronous motion of four tissue grips that are rigidly coupled to the tissue specimen. The test device models in situ loading conditions of the pregnant uterus and overcomes previous limitations of biaxial testing. A non-contact method of measuring strains combined with data reduction to resolve the stresses in two directions provides the information necessary to develop a three dimensional constitutive model of the material. Moreover, future research can apply this method to other soft tissues with similar in situ loading conditions.