Hand-held materials tester
First Claim
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1. A device for measuring a compressive property of a material comprising:
- a) an indenting tip;
b) a loading system capable of moving a certain linear distance and pushing said indenting tip into said material;
c) a force detection system for measuring force exerted on said indenting tip by said material;
d) a variable angle compensation system for compensating for the effects of tilt of the indenting tip on the force detected by said force detection system; and
e) a rendering system for converting output of said force detection system to a display representative of said compressive property.
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Abstract
A handheld materials testing device is provided for measuring compressive properties of a material, preferably articular cartilage in vivo. The device is computer-controlled and provides a readout indicative of the desired compressive property, which in the case of bodily tissue, may be indicative of the state of health of the tissue. The device does not require precise perpendicular alignment and is preferably capable of compensating for force applied by the user against the tissue.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A device for measuring a compressive property of a material comprising:
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a) an indenting tip; b) a loading system capable of moving a certain linear distance and pushing said indenting tip into said material; c) a force detection system for measuring force exerted on said indenting tip by said material; d) a variable angle compensation system for compensating for the effects of tilt of the indenting tip on the force detected by said force detection system; and e) a rendering system for converting output of said force detection system to a display representative of said compressive property. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A watertight device for measuring stiffness of a material comprising:
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a) a handpiece and a probe connected to said handpiece through the use of a bayonet type coupler; b) batteries disposed within said handpiece; c) an indenting tip made of a rigid material and having a convex tip contoured as a hemisphere or a paraboloid; d) a loading system operatively connected to said tip comprising; 1) a microprocessor-controlled linear actuator capable of step-wise movement; 2) a drive shaft assembly moved by said linear actuator; and 3) means operatively connected to said linear actuator for determining the number of steps taken by said linear actuator; e) a force detection system comprising; 1) a sensing arm solidly connected to said indenting tip; and 2) one or more strain gauges to measure the bend of said sensing arm; f) a rendering system operatively connected to said force detection system comprising a liquid crystal display (LCD) capable of providing measurement data, error feedback, low battery, and battery exhausted displays.
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18. A method for determining a compressive property of a material comprising:
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a) positioning a device comprising an indenting tip such that said indenting tip contacts said material and means for compensating for effects of angle of contact between said indenting tip and said material; b) extending said indenting tip into said material; c) measuring force exerted by said material on said indenting tip; d) computing the stiffness of said material as a function of said force measurement. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification