A Review of Apparatus for Investigating the Mechanical Properties of Soft Animal Tissue in Vitro

Abstract

This paper contains a review of the systems developed for testing skeletal muscle in vitro and it demonstrates how many of the design features and performance figures obtained are similar even though a range of engineering techniques have been used. The main topic considered is the uniaxial testing of skeletal muscle but it is also shown, by example, that similar ideas have been incorporated into machines for the uniaxial and multi-axial testing of other soft tissues.