Development of hardness measurement system for specific muscle

The purpose of this study is to develop a hardness measurement system for specific muscle by using the ultrasound imaging device which can record the force applied to the tissue. The probe of the device was made small to have a constant contact area of the skin surface of an object. Small sized indenter with rectangle contact surface was constructed and was attached to the probe. As the first step, gel mimicking human soft tissue was indented with the proposed device. The deformation of the gel and reaction force was measured. These were also measured with a pressuremter. Regression lines between deformation and reaction force measured using both method were calculated and their slopes were examined. The difference between the slopes were 8% or less. In conclusion, the deformation and reaction force can be measured with the proposed device in the same manner as pressuremeter.