“In Vivo” Determination of Macroscopic Biological Material Properties

This paper describes an experimental-analytical technique for determining the in-vivo macroscopic biological material properties of the human forearm. The technique utilizes the experimentally determined steady-state response of the forearm to a harmonic excitation in the 100 to 1000 Hertz band and a non-symmetric three-dimensional finite element model of the forearm. The “in-vivo macroscopic material properties” were determined by adjusting the material properties of the finite element model until there was a minimum of difference between the response of the finite element and the response found experimentally in the 100 to 1000 Hertz band. Both the soft tissues and the hard tissues were modeled as viscoelastic materials.