Uniaxial Testing of the Esophagus

Testing of human or animal tissues, such as ligaments, tendons, spinal cord and esophagus, is essential to the characterization of their behavior in vivo. Testing is performed to determine material properties used to set design specifications for bio-engineered replacement tissues and determine expected values in surgical simulation and modeling tools. In order to accurately replicate tissue behavior during testing, it is essential that the physiological conditions are maintained.

Within the BioPuls™ range there is a wide choice of high and low-capacity fixtures and environmental baths for tensile and fatigue testing of a variety of tissues. These solutions operate with any of our test system that provides advanced electronics for precision, reliability and control.

Alignment is less of a concern with soft tissues than with harder materials, but the problems of gripping are much more severe. The gripping solution is often specific to the characteristics of the specimen material and the conditions of the test. The wide variety of Instron options include line contact jaw faces, roughened grip surfaces, interlocking wave profile faces, adhesively bonding of the specimen ends, staples or stitched ends, through to freezer or cryogenic grips.

In the image are a set of our versa grips with serrated faces and an esophagus specimen wrapped in tissue paper to aid in fluid absorption under the clamping force which helps to prevent slipping. These grips are available as shown or are compatible with a quick-latch tank that can provide a fluid environment for simulating physiological conditions.