Applied use of biomechanical measurements from human tissues for the development of medical skills trainers: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to identify quantitative biomechanical measurements of human tissues, the methods for obtaining these measurements, and the primary motivations for conducting biomechanical research. INTRODUCTION: Medical skills trainers are a safe and useful tool for clinicians to use when learning or practicing medical procedures. The haptic fidelity of these devices is often poor, which may be because the synthetic materials chosen for these devices do not have the same mechanical properties as human tissues. This review investigates a heterogeneous body of literature to identify which biomechanical properties are available for human tissues, the methods for obtaining these values, and the primary motivations behind conducting biomechanical tests. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Studies containing quantitative measurements of the biomechanical properties of human tissues were included. Studies that primarily focused on dynamic and fluid mechanical properties were excluded. Additionally, studies only containing animal, in silico , or synthetic materials were excluded from this review. METHODS: This scoping review followed the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Sources of evidence were extracted from CINAHL (EBSCO), IEEE Xplore, MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and engineering conference proceedings. The search was limited to the English language. Two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts as well as full-text reviews. Any conflicts that arose during screening and full-text review were mediated by a third reviewer. Data extraction was conducted by 2 independent reviewers and discrepancies were mediated through discussion. The results are presented in tabular, figure, and narrative formats. RESULTS: Data were extracted from a total of 186 full-text publications. All of the studies, except for 1, were experimental. Included studies came from 33 countries, with the majority coming from the United States. Ex vivo methods were the predominant approach for extracting human tissue samples, and the most commonly studied tissue type was musculoskeletal. In this study, nearly 200 unique biomechanical values were reported, and the most commonly reported value was Young's (elastic) modulus. The most common type of mechanical test performed was tensile testing, and the most common reason for testing human tissues was to characterize biomechanical properties. Although the number of published studies on biomechanical properties of human tissues has increased over the past 20 years, there are many gaps in the literature. Of the 186 included studies, only 7 used human tissues for the design or validation of medical skills training devices. Furthermore, in studies where biomechanical values for human tissues have been obtained, a lack of standardization in engineering assumptions, methodologies, and tissue preparation may implicate the usefulness of these values. CONCLUSIONS: This review is the first of its kind to give a broad overview of the biomechanics of human tissues in the published literature. With respect to high-fidelity haptics, there is a large gap in the published literature. Even in instances where biomechanical values are available, comparing or using these values is difficult. This is likely due to the lack of standardization in engineering assumptions, testing methodology, and reporting of the results. It is recommended that journals and experts in engineering fields conduct further research to investigate the feasibility of implementing reporting standards. REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/fgb34.

Applied use of biomechanical measurements from human tissues for the development of medical skills trainers: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review is to identify the availability of quantitative biomechanical measurements from human tissues. This review will also consider the primary motivations for collecting biomechanical measurements of human tissues. The overall purpose of our research is to develop medical skills trainers that provide better haptic fidelity than those that are currently available. INTRODUCTION: Medical skills trainers are commonly used in clinician training, but trainers do not always have the same haptic properties as patients. This could be due to the limited availability or application of documented biomechanical properties of human tissues when developing trainers. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This scoping review will examine studies that have quantitatively measured the mechanical properties of human tissues. Only macroscopic specimens will be included, and articles primarily considering optical, acoustic, and thermal properties will be excluded. Included sources of evidence are from primary research, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and conference proceedings. METHODS: This review will follow the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Sources of evidence will be extracted from CINAHL, IEEE Xplore, MEDLINE, Scopus, and biomedical engineering conference proceedings. The search is limited to articles in English. Full articles will be retrieved if their title or abstract meet the inclusion criteria. Tabular, visual, and narrative summaries will be used to present the results. SCOPING REVIEW PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/fgb34.