Measurement of the viscoelastic properties of the vocal folds

Christian Wiikmann, Marcelo Alves Da Silva, Elizabeth Pinheiro Gomes Arêas, Domingos Hiroshi Tsuji, Luiz Ubirajara Sennes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (SciVal)

Abstract

Objectives: Studies of the viscoelastic properties of the vocal folds are normally performed with rheometers that use parallel plates whose interplate space is usually arbitrarily assigned a fixed value. In tissues subject to variation of thickness between samples, fixed gaps could result in different compressions, compromising the comparison among them. We performed an experimental study to determine whether different compressions can lead to different results in measurements of dynamic viscosity (DV) of vocal fold samples. Methods: We measured the DV of vocal fold samples of 10 larynges of cadavers under 3 different compression levels, corresponding to 0.2, 0.5, and 10 N on an 8-mm-diameter parallel-plate rheometer. Results: The DV directly varied with compression. We observed statistically significant differences between the results of 0.2 and 10 N (p = 0.0396) and 0.5 and 10 N (p = 0.0442). Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the level of compression influences the DV measure and suggests that a defined compression level should be used in rheometric studies of biological tissues.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)461-464
Number of pages4
JournalAnnals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology
Volume118
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2009

Keywords

  • Larynx
  • Rheology
  • Rheometer
  • Viscosity
  • Vocal fold

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Otorhinolaryngology

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