Full-field in vivo experimental study of the strains of a breathing human abdominal wall with intra-abdominal pressure variation

TL;DR

This study uses in vivo digital image correlation to measure and analyze the strain behavior of the human abdominal wall during breathing, revealing variability among individuals and informing surgical mesh design.

Contribution

It provides the first full-field in vivo measurement of abdominal wall strains during intra-abdominal pressure changes using DIC technology.

Findings

High variability in strain and pressure among subjects

Strain values are weakly correlated with intra-abdominal pressure

Differences in principal strain directions observed across individuals

Abstract

The presented study aims to assess the mechanical behaviour of the anterior abdominal wall based on an in vivo experiment on humans. Full-field measurement of abdominal wall displacement during changes of intra-abdominal pressure is performed using a digital image correlation (DIC) system. Continuous measurement in time enables the observation of changes in the strain field during breathing. The understanding of the mechanical behaviour of a living human abdominal wall is important for the proper design of surgical meshes used for ventral hernia repair, which was also a motivation for the research presented below. The research refers to the strain field of a loaded abdominal wall and presents the evolution of principal strains and their directions in the case of 12 subjects, 8 male and 4 female. Peritoneal dialysis procedure allows for the measurement of intra-abdominal pressure after fluid introduction. High variability among patients is observed, also in terms of principal strain direction. Subjects exhibit intra-abdominal pressure of values from 11 to 21cmH2O. However, the strain values are not strongly correlated with the pressure value, indicated variability of material properties.