DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF CLAMPING FORCES IN CARDIOVASCULAR-SURGERY

Equipment for measuring the direct tip force of a clamp arm on the ves sel wall is designed as an adjustable surgical clamp with strain gauge s applied and connected via an amplifier to a computer-based data acqu isition system. A mechanical model that incorporates the resistance of tissue against momentary deformations is developed to analyse and jus tify measured results. In in vivo experiments on rat thoracic aorta, t he minimum occlusion force, stationary clamping force and the momentar y peak clamping force are measured and observed as an important cause of damages in the endothelial layer of vascular walls.