Surface Deformation Tracking of a Silicone Gel Skin Phantom in Response to Normal Indentation

Identifying the mechanical properties of the skin has been the subject of much study in recent years, as such knowledge can provide insight into wound healing, wrinkling and minimization of scarring through surgical planning. Traditional experimental methods used to extract mechanical properties in vivo, such as suction/torsion tests are not capable of measuring the skin's anisotropic mechanical properties. We have previously developed a 3D force-sensitive micro-robot to induce controlled, complex deformation patterns, allowing characterization of the anisotropic properties of skin. This paper describes the introduction of a three-camera stereoscope to measure the strain field of the deforming surface on a soft silicone gel phantom, using three-dimensional Phase Cross Correlation (PCC) methods on a speckle pattern.