On the construction, circuitry and properties of liquid metal strain gages

A quick and easy method by which reliable and accurate liquid metal strain gages (LMSG) can be manufactured for use in measuring large strains within biological tissues has been developed. The circuitry used to power the gages is also simple and allows gage voltages to be recorded without the need for instrumentation amplifiers. An added advantage is that the gage output indicates absolute gage length rather than change in gage length. Lastly, evaluation of these gages error sensitivity has shown them to be acceptable for measurement of strains of magnitudes occurring within many soft tissues.