Effect of storage on tensile material properties of bovine liver

Cadaveric tissue models play an important role in the assessment and optimization of novel restraint systems for reducing abdominal injuries. However, the effect of tissue preservation by means of freezing on the material properties of abdominal tissues remains unknown. The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of frozen storage time on the material responses of the liver parenchyma in tensile loading. Specimens from ten bovine livers were equally divided into three groups: fresh, 30-day frozen storage, and 60-day frozen storage. All preserved specimens were stored at -12°C. Dog-bone specimens from each preservation group were randomly assigned to one of three strain rates (0.01s(-1), 0.1s(-1), and 1.0s(-1)) and tested to failure in tensile loading. The local material response recorded at the tear location and the global material response of the whole specimen of the liver parenchyma specimens were investigated based on the experimental data and optimized analytical material models. The local and global failure strains decreased significantly between fresh specimens and specimens preserved for 30 days (p<0.05), and between fresh specimens and specimens preserved for 60 days (p<0.05) for all three loading rates. Changes on the material model parameters were also observed between fresh and preserved specimens. Preservation by means of frozen storage was found to affect both the material and failure response of bovine liver parenchyma in tensile loading. The stiffness of the tissue increased with increased preservation time and increased strain rate. In summary, significant changes (p<0.05) between the failure strain of previously frozen liver parenchyma samples and fresh samples were demonstrated at both global and local levels in this study. In addition, nonlinear and viscoelastic characteristics of the liver parenchyma were observed in tension for both fresh and preserved samples.