Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

The DPG Spring Meeting in Dresden had to be cancelled! Read more ...

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 35: Bioimaging and Biospectroscopy II

BP 35.6: Talk

Thursday, March 19, 2020, 16:45–17:00, HÜL 386

A multisensory interface for exploring nanomechanical tissue properties with human senses — •Robert Magerle, Paul Zech, Andreas Otto, Martin Dehnert, and Alexandra Bendixen — Fakultät für Naturwissenschaften, TU Chemnitz

Tissues display a complex spatial structure and their mechanical properties remain largely unexplored on the nanometer scale. Here we present a multisensory interface that makes nanomechanical tissue properties accessible to human perception and cognition. With a haptic interface, we translate the 3D force fields measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM) on the nanometer scale into forces perceivable to humans. This allows human users to explore haptically the specimen's surface shape as well as its local nanomechanical properties while simultaneously employing multiple senses. We developed a generic hysteresis model that uses the force-vs.-distance data collected with the AFM to predict the force (output) of the haptic device for an arbitrary indentation trajectory (input). This allows the user to perceive the specimen's local elastic response as well as different types of dissipative processes including viscoelasticity, elasto-capillary effects, adhesion hysteresis, and hysteresis due to capillary forces. The first samples studied include native (unfixed) hydrated tendon and living cancerous epithelial breast cells in culture medium.