In vitro skin-tissue experiment for increased realism in open surgery simulations

In-vitro uniaxial stress tests were conducted on samples of healthy human skin, obtained as a result of plastic surgical procedures. Pairs of test strips were cut from each sample to assess the effects of local orthotropy. Each strip was then subjected to constant strain-rate tensile testing, to observe its stress/strain behaviour. Typical maximal values for Young's modulus were found to be approximately 15.3MPa and 3.48Mpa for Langer-aligned and perpendicular test strips, respectively.