Fig. 2: Emerging classes of flexible/stretchable microsystem platforms for evaluating the elastic moduli of soft tissues.
From: Recent advances in microsystem approaches for mechanical characterization of soft biological tissues
a Schematic illustration of microstructures in soft biological tissues, with a focus on the skin. Reproduced with permission47. Copyright 2015, Nature Publishing Group. b The resultant mechanical properties exhibit “J-shaped” stress–strain behavior. Reproduced with permission46. Copyright 2017, Royal Society of Chemistry. c–e Various flexible/stretchable microsystem approaches, with upper insets showing the material engineering and manufacturing technologies. c Needle-shaped flexible probe for tissue modulus measurements based on an ultrathin actuator and sensor placed on biological tissue. Reproduced with permission65. Copyright 2018, Nature Publishing Group. d Photograph of a conformal device on a silicone sheet substrate for characterization of the elastic modulus of skin. Reproduced with permission41. Copyright 2015, Nature Publishing Group. e Optical image of a stretchable phased array consisting of 12 × 12 interconnected ultrasonic transducers during bending and stretching. Inset: the magnified image of four transducer units in the array, with a spacing pitch of ~0.8 mm. Scale bars, 300 µm (inset). Reproduced with permission66. Copyright 2021, Nature Publishing Group
