title: A transducer for measuring force on surgical sutures.
abstract: The objective of this study was to validate, both in vitro and in an ex vivo model, a technique for the measurement of forces exerted on surgical sutures. For this purpose, a stainless steel E-type buckle force transducer was designed and constructed. A strain gauge was mounted on the central beam of the transducer to measure transducer deformation. The transducer was tested and calibrated on a single strand of surgical suture during cyclic loading. Further validation was performed using a previously published cadaveric model of laryngoplasty in the horse. Linear regression of transducer output with actual force during calibration tests resulted in mean R² values of 1.00, 0.99, and 0.99 for rising slope, falling slope, and overall slope, respectively. The R² was not less than 0.96 across an average of 75 cycles per test. The difference between rising slope and falling slope was 4%. Over 45 846 samples, the predicted force from transducer output showed a mean error of 4%. In vitro validation produced an adjusted R² of 0.99 when the force on the suture was regressed against translaryngeal pressure in a mixed-effects model. E-type buckle force transducers showed a highly linear output over a physiological force range when applied to surgical suture in vitro and in an ex vivo model of laryngoplasty. With appropriate calibration and short-term in vivo implantation, these transducers may advance our knowledge of the mechanisms of success and failure of techniques, such as laryngoplasty, that use structural suture implants.
authors.affiliation: Equine Performance Testing Clinic, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Cornell University Hospital for Animals, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA. twitte@rvc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Witte
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheetham
authors.forename: Jeremy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Rawlinson
authors.forename: L Vince
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Soderholm
authors.forename: Norm G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Ducharme
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006736:Horses / Q000601:surgery*; D058753:Laryngoplasty / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D016014:Linear Models; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013537:Sutures / Q000662:veterinary*; D014159:Transducers / Q000662:veterinary