Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering
Position: Technical Staff
T +43 1 40400 61440
martin.stoiber@meduniwien.ac.at
Artificial Organs; Biomechanical Phenomena; Manufactured Materials; Materials Testing; Plastics
Mechanical characterization of small blood vessels and vascular grafts
Small diameter blood vessel substitutes require special materials, structures and mechanical behavior to ensure long term functionality. Our group is developing vascular grafts using the electrospinning process which creates constructs out of nanostructured polymer fibers, thus mimicking the structure of the cell surrounding. The mechanical properties can be influenced by electrospinning parameters, fiber orientations and materials. The biomechanical characterization of blood vessels in vitro is not only important as basis for design and production of blood vessel substitutes but also for the investigation of various vascular diseases and for the development of mathematical models.
Mechanical Characterization of Soft Tissue and Vascular Implants
Testing procedures to analyze mechanical behavior of tissue, vasculature and prostheses are available in our lab. Two measurement systems cover a wide measurement range. A BOSE ElectroForce testbench system with a 200N Linear motor (Bose Corp. MN, USA) is used for lower forces (0.01 N – 200 N) and high dynamic measurements (up to 100 Hz). A conventional tensile testing apparatus (Beta 10-2.5, Messphysik GmbH, Fürstenfeld, Austria) with contactless strain measurement is used for larger specimen and forces.