Development of a penetration friction apparatus (PFA) to measure the frictional performance of surgical suture

Gangqiang Zhang; Tianhui Ren; Walter Lette; Xiangqiong Zeng; Emile van der Heide

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2017.06.031

Development of a penetration friction apparatus (PFA) to measure the frictional performance of surgical suture

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2017 Oct:74:392-399. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2017.06.031. Epub 2017 Jun 26.

Authors

Gangqiang Zhang¹, Tianhui Ren², Walter Lette³, Xiangqiong Zeng⁴, Emile van der Heide⁵

Affiliations

¹ Advanced Lubricating Materials Laboratory, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 201210 Shanghai, China; Laboratory for Surface Technology and Tribology, University of Twente, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands; School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China.
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China.
³ Laboratory for Surface Technology and Tribology, University of Twente, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
⁴ Advanced Lubricating Materials Laboratory, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 201210 Shanghai, China; Laboratory for Surface Technology and Tribology, University of Twente, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands. Electronic address: zengxq@sari.ac.cn.
⁵ Laboratory for Surface Technology and Tribology, University of Twente, 7500AE Enschede, The Netherlands; TU Delft, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands; Ghent University, Soete Laboratory, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 903, B-9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium.

PMID: 28692906
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2017.06.031

Abstract

Nowadays there is a wide variety of surgical sutures available in the market. Surgical sutures have different sizes, structures, materials and coatings, whereas they are being used for various surgeries. The frictional performances of surgical sutures have been found to play a vital role in their functionality. The high friction force of surgical sutures in the suturing process may cause inflammation and pain to the person, leading to a longer recovery time, and the second trauma of soft or fragile tissue. Thus, the investigation into the frictional performance of surgical suture is essential. Despite the unquestionable fact, little is actually known on the friction performances of surgical suture-tissue due to the lack of appropriate test equipment. This study presents a new penetration friction apparatus (PFA) that allowed for the evaluation of the friction performances of various surgical needles and sutures during the suturing process, under different contact conditions. It considered the deformation of tissue and can realize the puncture force measurements of surgical needles as well as the friction force of surgical sutures. The developed PFA could accurately evaluate and understand the frictional behaviour of surgical suture-tissue in the simulating clinical conditions. The forces measured by the PFA showed the same trend as that reported in literatures.

Keywords: Friction; Penetration friction apparatus (PFA); Sliding; Soft tissue; Surgical suture.

MeSH terms

Friction*
Humans
Needles
Sutures*