Abstract
A comprehensive experimental/numerical procedure is formulated and
validated for the in vivo characterization of the mechanical properties
of human skin and the simulation of reconstructive surgery. The procedure
uses in vivo experimental tests on undermined skin flaps, which can
be performed during surgery, a numerical model formulated within
the framework of nonlinear finite strain elasticity and a nonlinear
parameter identification technique for the calibration of the model
from indirect measurements. The procedure is applied to characterize
the scalp skin tested in Raposio and Nordstr�m (Skin Res. Technol.
4 (1998) 94). The skin is treated as a time independent, isotropic
and hyperelastic membrane and the problem is solved through a finite
element discretization. The study highlights that the model parameters
can be determined with good accuracy using displacement measurements
of a few points in the domain.
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