Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials
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J Mech Behav Biomed Mater · Mar 2015
ReviewBiomechanical properties of synthetic surgical meshes for pelvic prolapse repair.
Synthetic meshes are widely used for surgical repair of different kind of prolapses. In the light of the experience of abdominal wall repair, similar prostheses are currently used in the pelvic region, to restore physiological anatomy after organ prolapse into the vaginal wall, that represent a recurrent dysfunction. For this purpose, synthetic meshes are surgically positioned in contact with the anterior and/or posterior vaginal wall, to inferiorly support prolapsed organs. ⋯ Material and structural properties are key factors in determining mesh biochemical and mechanical compatibility in vivo. The most significant results on vaginal tissue and surgical meshes mechanical characterization are here reported and discussed. Moreover, computational models of the pelvic region, which could support the surgeon in the evaluation of mesh performances in physiological conditions, are recalled.
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J Mech Behav Biomed Mater · Mar 2015
Efficient and optimized identification of generalized Maxwell viscoelastic relaxation spectra.
Viscoelastic relaxation spectra are essential for predicting and interpreting the mechanical responses of materials and structures. For biological tissues, these spectra must usually be estimated from viscoelastic relaxation tests. ⋯ The algorithm was tested against trial data to characterize its robustness and identify its limitations and strengths. The algorithm was then applied to identify the viscoelastic response of reconstituted collagen, revealing an extensive distribution of viscoelastic time constants.