THE EFFECT OF THE PERIOSTEUM AND STRAIN GAGES ON THE STRUCTURAL RESPONSE OF HUMAN RIBS

摘要

The purpose of this study was to determine if the removal of the periosteum or the application of a strain gage has any significant effect on the structural response of human ribs. A total of 32 three-point bending tests were performed on 16 matched whole rib sections obtained from the left and right sides of five male human thoraces. For one test group, matched specimens were tested to determine the effect of removing the soft tissue and periosteum versus leaving it intact. For a second test group, matched specimens were tested to determine the effects of placing a strain gage on the tension side of the specimen versus no strain gage attachment. The specimens were tested using a servo-hydraulic material testing machine (MTS) at a displacement rate of 17.78 cm/s with a fixed testing span of 10.16 cm. Prior to testing, a microCT was used to obtain a detailed cross-sectional image of each specimen at the point of the impactor blade contact. There were no statistical differences in area moment of inertia (p=0.60), distance to the neutral axis (p=0.29), peak moment (p=0.14), peak impactor displacement (p=0.13), estimated peak stress (p=0.42), or estimated peak strain (p=0.15) between specimens with the periosteum and those without the periosteum. There were no statistical differences in area moment of inertia (p=0.76), distance to the neutral axis (p=0.20), peak moment (p=0.81), peak impactor displacement (p=0.91), estimated peak stress (p=0.59), or estimated peak strain (p=0.29) between specimens with a strain gage and those without a strain gage. In summary, neither the removal of the periosteum nor the application of a strain gage has any significant effect on the structural response of human ribs in dynamic three-point bending.