Supported by the National Institutes of Health via its S10 Program
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DELTAi is home to the Bio-Vibrometer (BioVIBE, pronounced “bio-vibe”), an open access vibrometer for the non-destructive, non-contact method of assessing the dynamic and viscoelastic properties of materials and biological tissues. The BioVIBE was made a part of DELTAi through the generous and gracious support of the NIH through the Shared Instrumentation Grant Program (grant title: “Laser Scanning Vibrometer,” NIH S10OD032194.) Location: 3131 Engineering Hall |
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Description
Rigorous biomechanical research relies on quasistatic, dynamic, and viscoelastic characterization. Although this is well accepted by the research community, experimental constraints, such as a need for minimal manipulation or a sustained in vivo environment, greatly limit the scope of biomechanical studies.
BioVIBE has the ability to remotely quantify tissue dynamic and viscoelastic biomechanical properties from miniscule vibrations and wave propagation. The instrument consists of a Polytec PSV-500-3D QTec Laser Scanning Vibrometer, which has the ability to characterize the dynamic and viscoelastic properties of complex biological samples and biomaterials without damage.
Advantages in using BioVIBE are extensive and include:
- Rapid, contactless measurements (23 points per second)
- High resolution 3D scanning (down to 36 μm in-plane, sub-nm out-of-plane)
- Multi-scale measurement capabilities (sample size anywhere from 100 μm with no upper limit in size)
- Measurement of hydrated samples
These features are critical to maintaining highly demanding experimental conditions in complex studies, such as longitudinal characterization of cultured tissues. The BioVib allows for the ability to ascertain biomechanical dynamics, determine their degree of dampening, quantify tissue anisotropy, and visualize stress-strain maps.
Operation
Among the many modes that BioVIBE may be used to collect data, one of the simplest configurations is to excite/vibrate the biological sample with a piezoelectric actuator. A frequency sweep allows for the user to identify the tissue’s resonance frequency, and various biomechanical properties can then be calculated using this value.
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Experimental setup for vibrometry. (A) A reference signal (Ref) is sent to the piezoelectric actuator which results in tissue sample deformation. The axial displacement of the tissue’s top surface is measured by the vibrometer (Vib). (B) A frequency sweep reference signal (black) is used to identify the tissue’s resonance peaks (red). (C) A sinusoidal reference signal (black) drives the slightly shifted piezoelectric actuator’s response (blue). The shift is shown as the difference between the black and blue dashed lines. The tissue’s periodic deformation is shown in red with the phase shift with respect to the piezoelectric actuator signal given by δ. |
Usage
Please see our recent publication on vibrometry testing of cartilage for an experimental setup for testing native cartilage tissue.
Additional examples of BioVIBE’s applications include:
- Nondestructive characterization of anisotropic, dynamic, and viscoelastic properties of engineered cartilage
- Assessing the viscoelastic dysfunction of cardiopulmonary tissues with disease progression
- Nondestructive characterization of anisotropic, dynamic, and viscoelastic properties of engineered striated muscle tissue
- Nondestructive characterization of anisotropic, dynamic, and viscoelastic properties of engineered striated muscle tissue
- Nondestructive characterization of anisotropic, dynamic, and viscoelastic properties of normal, pathologic, and regenerated bladder tissues
- Characterization of piezoelectric scaffolds for neural tissue-engineering
- Optical coherence elastography (OCE) for imaging and characterizing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and ocular disease
- Nondestructive biomechanical mapping of human brain organoids
- Acoustic wave detection for in vivo radiation dosimetry of the prostate
- And many more!
Demonstration Video
For instrument access, please contact Jerry Hu: jerry.hu@uci.edu