Measurement of Nonlinear-elastic Properties of Skin and Subcutaneous Tissues via Unconfined Compression Tests

INTRODUCTION Knowledge of the nonlinear-elastic properties of soft tissues is essential for the development of reliable finite element models for biological systems. The compressive nonlinear-elastic properties of soft tissues are usually determined using unconfined compression tests. To determine the nonlinearelastic behavior of skin and subcutaneous tissues using a conventional approach, the skin and subcutaneous tissues have to be separated before testing [1,2,3]. Using such an approach, measurement errors may be increased as a consequence of the reduced specimen dimensions and cumulative experimental errors. In the present study, we propose a novel method to determine the nonlinear-elastic behaviors of the skin and the subcutaneous tissues simultaneously using specimens of skin/subcutaneous composites.