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A serrated jaw clamp for tendon gripping
Jason Tak-Man Cheung1, Ming Zhang
1Department of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, PR China.
Medical Engineering & Physics
|August 27, 2005
Summary
Researchers developed a custom serrated jaw clamp for mechanical tendon testing. This new clamp securely holds tendons under high tension, preventing slippage and damage during biomechanical studies.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Mechanical testing of tendons requires specialized clamps to withstand high loads without causing damage.
- Existing frozen serrated clamps are effective but cumbersome and difficult to manage due to their complex design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate and evaluate a custom-made, non-frozen serrated jaw clamp for holding tendons during biomechanical testing.
- To assess the clamp's ability to sustain high tension and strain without slippage or tendon damage.
Main Methods:
- A custom serrated jaw clamp was designed and fabricated using commercially available serrated plastic material.
- Tensile testing was performed on bovine tendons using the custom clamp to monitor maximum tension before visual slippage.
- The clamp's performance was evaluated based on its ability to sustain high forces and strain percentages.
Main Results:
- The custom-made serrated jaw clamp successfully sustained tension forces exceeding 2500 N.
- The clamp maintained tendon integrity at strains of approximately 30% without slippage or cutting.
- The fabricated clamp demonstrated ease of customization for various tendon sizes.
Conclusions:
- The custom-made, non-frozen serrated jaw clamp offers a viable and manageable alternative for tendon fixation in biomechanical studies.
- The clamp's design allows for efficient, custom fabrication with minimal resources.
- This innovation facilitates more accessible and reliable mechanical testing of tendons.