A TRIPLANE VIDEO-BASED EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM FOR STUDYING AXISYMMETRICALLY INFLATED BIOMEMBRANES

Uniform inflation experiments are useful for studying the multiaxial m echanical properties of thin biological soft tissues, but previous inf lation studies have been limited by 1) the lack of a theory that allow s a specific form of the constitutive relation to be inferred directly from data and 2) slow, off-line methods for the measurement and analy sis of strain, In this paper, we describe a new on-line, triplane, vid eo-based experimental system for performing new theoretically based te sts on axisymmetrically inflated biomembranes. In particular, in-plane principal stretch ratios and principal curvatures can be measured con tinuously in multiple regions during pressure-controlled inflation tes ts. Data from tests on rubber membranes and fusiform aneurysms illustr ate the utility of both the new theory and experimental system.