Experimental methods in testing of tissues and implants

Three experimental tasks are of primary interest in biomechanics: determination of the mechanical properties of biomaterials, including tissues and artificial materials; validation of the mechanical reliability of implantable devices; assessment of the compatibility of the mechanical properties of such devices with the surrounding biological environment. Due to the complexity of the in vivo conditions, most of these studies are performed on in vitro models. This contribution presents a review of some methods that are currently utilised at the Laboratory of Biological Structure Mechanics at the Politecnico of Milan.