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Age-related changes in mechanical properties of human abdominal fascia

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess and model age-related changes in the mechanical properties of human fascia. The samples were divided into three age groups: group A—up to 60 years (mean age 52.5 ± 6 years), group B—61–80 years (mean age 70.4 ± 5.2 years), and group C—81–90 years (mean age 83.2 ± 2 years). A uniaxial tensile test was applied to fascia specimens cut perpendicular and parallel to fibers. The secant modulus at 5% strain, the maximum stress, and the stretch at maximum stress were calculated from the stress-stretch ratio curves. The results indicated an increase in the secant modulus with the increased age. The trend is clearer in the longitudinal direction. Considering the strain energy function which accounts the isotropic and non-isotropic response of the fascia where isotropic and anisotropic parts are split, we evaluated which material model is the most suitable to present isotropic mechanical behavior of the tissue. The experimental stress-stretch ratio curves were approximated using Mooney-Rivlin, Yeoh, and neo-Hookean strain energy functions and a good match between theoretical and experimental results was obtained. On the basis of objective function values and normalized mean square root error, we recommend using the Yeoh model to describe the isotropic mechanical behavior of human abdominal fascia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, 2 Dunav Str., 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Miglena Kirilova-Doneva

  2. Institute of Mechanics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl. 4, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Miglena Kirilova-Doneva, Dessislava Pashkouleva & Stoyan Stoytchev

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  1. Miglena Kirilova-Doneva
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Correspondence to Miglena Kirilova-Doneva.

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All procedures performed in studies were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional Ethics Committee at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (reference number N36/24.02.2016) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Kirilova-Doneva, M., Pashkouleva, D. & Stoytchev, S. Age-related changes in mechanical properties of human abdominal fascia. Med Biol Eng Comput 58, 1565–1573 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-020-02172-2

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