Mechanical Characterization of Human Skin From In-Vivo Tests and Simulation of Reconstructive Surgery

A comprehensive experimental/numerical procedure is presented for the in vivo characterization of the mechanical properties of human skin and the simulation of reconstructive surgery. The procedure uses in vivo experimental tests, which can be performed during surgery, a numerical model formulated within the framework of nonlinear finite strain elasticity and a nonlinear parameter identification technique for the calibration of the model. The skin is treated as a time independent and hyperelastic membrane and the problem is solved through a finite element discretization. The procedure is applied to characterize the scalp skin tested by Raposio and Nordstro¨m, 1998, and to simulate a simple surgical procedure of excision and closure. The application highlights the validity of the proposed approach.