Determining Fracture Characteristics in Scalpel Cutting of Soft Tissue

This paper addresses the characteristic response of soft tissue to the growth of a cut (cracking) with a scalpel blade. We present our experimental equipment, experiments, and the results for scalpel cutting of soft tissue. The experimentally measured cut-force versus cut-length data was used to determine the soft tissue´s resistance to fracture (resistance to crack extension) in scalpel cutting. The resistance to fracture (the toughness) of the soft tissue is quantified by the measure R defined as the amount of mechanical work needed to cause a cut (crack) to extend for a unit length in a soft-tissue sample of unit thickness. The equipment, method, and model are applicable for all soft tissue. We used pig liver as soft-tissue samples for our experiments