A Pioneering Investigation of a Novel in-situ Dynamic Characterization of the Stress-Strain Mechanism on Human Plantar Soft Tissue

Abstract We have conducted the first in-situ and in-vivo dynamic mechanical test on human plantar soft tissue. A dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA)-like device has been invented to perform the in-situ and in-vivo stress-strain tests on living plantar in order to characterize the material mechanism of biological soft tissue, whereas it is nearly impossible to prepare a sample from a living body for classical tests. A series of pioneering tests of tensile/compression on the heel of ten volunteers are reported, with the reference of tests on mimic foot model made by silicon rubber, standard silicon rubber brick sample, and finite elementary analysis. In addition to demonstrating the effectiveness of the device and approach, interesting correlations between the results and clinic data were found, suggesting considerable potential for the invention in future research.