title: Characterization of sex-based differences in the mechanical properties of human finger glabrous tissue using a fiberoptic sensor.
abstract: TAC-Cell is a custom-built somatosensory stimulator that delivers pneumatic cutaneous tactile inputs to virtually any skin target on the body and by virtue of its non-ferrous materials is compatible with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scanners. In this study, we describe the method to measure apparent skin displacement induced by TAC-Cell stimulation of the glabrous surface of the distal phalanx of the index finger. Specifically, we studied the effect of four servo controller input voltages (0.4V-1.0 V) on resultant skin displacement among eighteen, neurotypical adult male and female participants. A fiberoptic displacement sensor, commonly used in industrial applications, was coupled to the TAC-Cell to measure the glabrous skin׳s kinematic response to different stimulus amplitudes. Skin displacement was significantly dependent on stimulus amplitudes and sex (p<0.0001). Power spectrum and kinematic analysis of skin displacement showed that the pneumatic TAC-Cell stimulus consists of a spectrally rich, high velocity signal. In related work, we have shown that this dynamic pneumocutaneous stimulus is highly effective in evoking a cortical brain response for neurodiagnostic applications and somatosensory pathway analysis in health and disease.
authors.affiliation: Communication Neuroscience Laboratories, University of Nebraska, 141 Barkley Memorial Center, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA. Electronic address: lalit.venkatesan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lalit
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Venkatesan
authors.affiliation: Communication Neuroscience Laboratories, University of Nebraska, 141 Barkley Memorial Center, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA; Department of Special Education & Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska, 272 Barkley Memorial Center, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA; Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA. Electronic address: steven.barlow@unl.edu.
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Barlow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002138:Calibration; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055100:Optical Fibers; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Glabrous skin; Human; Pneumatic; Somatosensory; Stimulation; Tactile