Necromechanics: Death-induced changes in the mechanical properties of human tissues

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2015

Authors

Pedro Martins (Author) FEUP; Ferreira, F (Author) Other; Renato Natal Jorge (Author) FEUP; Parente, MPL (Author) FEUP; Santos A (Author) FMUP

Journal

Title: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine

Vol. 229

Pages: 343-349

ISSN: 0954-4119

Publisher: SAGE

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 7 Citations

Scopus - 8 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00G-5R1

DOI: 10.1177/0954411915581409

Abstract (EN): After the death phenomenon, the rigor mortis development, characterized by body stiffening, is one of the most evident changes that occur in the body. In this work, the development of rigor mortis was assessed using a skinfold caliper in human cadavers and in live people to measure the deformation in the biceps brachii muscle in response to the force applied by the device. Additionally, to simulate the measurements with the finite element method, a two-dimensional model of an arm section was used. As a result of the experimental procedure, a decrease in deformation with increasing postmortem time was observed, which corresponds to an increase in rigidity. As expected, the deformations for the live subjects were higher. The finite element method analysis showed a correlation between the c(1) parameter of the neo-Hookean model in the 4- to 8-h postmortem interval. This was accomplished by adjusting the c(1) material parameter in order to simulate the measured experimental displacement. Despite being a preliminary study, the obtained results show that combining the proposed experimental procedure with a numerical technique can be very useful in the study of the postmortem mechanical modifications of human tissues. Moreover, the use of data from living subjects allows us to estimate the time of death paving the way to establish this process as an alternative to the existing techniques. This solution constitutes a portable, non-invasive method of estimating the postmortem interval with direct quantitative measurements using a skinfold caliper. The tools and methods described can be used to investigate the subject and to gain epidemiologic knowledge on rigor mortis phenomenon.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7