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Needle insertion-induced quasiperiodic cone cracks in hydrogel
M Muthukumar1, M S Bobji2, K R Y Simha2
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore - 560012, India. muthukumar.iitk@gmail.com and Department of Aeronautical Engineering, Acharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore, 560107, India. muthukumarm@acharya.ac.in.
Soft Matter
|February 8, 2021
Summary
Researchers used a transparent hydrogel to study needle insertion damage. They observed stable, periodic cone cracks, offering insights into controlling tissue damage during surgery.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biomedical Engineering
- Fracture Mechanics
Background:
- Needle insertion in minimally invasive surgery can cause significant, yet poorly understood, tissue damage.
- The opaque and inhomogeneous nature of biological tissues hinders direct observation of damage mechanisms.
- Developing tissue mimics is crucial for studying these intricate processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate needle insertion-induced damage mechanisms using a transparent tissue mimic.
- To analyze the forces and crack propagation during needle penetration.
- To understand the role of stress fields in crack formation and periodicity.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing transparent and homogeneous polyacrylamide hydrogel as a tissue mimic.
- Recording insertion forces and needle displacement during penetration.
- Observing and characterizing the resulting crack patterns within the hydrogel.
Main Results:
- Insertion force exhibited a pattern of gradual increase followed by a sharp fall, correlating with crack propagation.
- The study documented the first observation of nearly periodic, stable, three-dimensional cone cracks during deep needle penetration.
- The stress field around the needle tip was identified as the cause of crack symmetry and periodicity.
Conclusions:
- Polyacrylamide hydrogel serves as an effective model for studying soft, brittle material fracture.
- Understanding these fracture dynamics provides insights into controlling tissue damage during surgical needle insertion.
- The findings offer a promising direction for improved needle designs and surgical techniques.
