Micromechanical testing system

所要求的设备将创建一个新的多用户设施，使我们能够扩展我们目前的研究，并在确定生物组织（骨，软骨，前列腺）和生物材料的微观水平上取得新的进展。它将用于支持我们的研究生课程在机械和材料工程，化学工程和计算科学。所要求的设备包括a)用于测试小生物样品的机械系统（Biosyntech微机械系统A400.25）和b)用于解剖和制备样品以及检查样品的显微镜。将使用所要求设备的研究项目包括：a)骨组织的力学特性：目的是研究骨微观结构、组织特性和强度之间的关系，以便更好地预测和治疗骨折。b)组织工程：本研究的一个例子特别关注机械刺激对增强软骨组织的合成和后续性能的影响。c)前列腺组织的表征：本研究的目的是为更好的前列腺癌诊断技术提供科学依据。具体地说，前列腺癌和正常组织之间的细胞几何和拓扑结构的差异进行了检查。

The requested equipment will create a new multi-user facility and allow us to expand our current research  and make new advances in determining properties of biological tissues -bone, cartilage, prostate- and biomaterials at the microscopic level. It will be used to support our graduate programs in Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Computing Science. The requested equipment consists in a) a mechanical system to test small biological samples (Biosyntech Micromechanical System A400.25) and b) a microscope to dissect and prepare the samples and well as examine them. The research programs that will be using the requested equipment are: a) Mechanical characterization of bone tissue: the objective is to investigate the relationships between bone microstructure, tissue properties and strength for better fracture prediction and treatment. b) Tissue engineering: one of the examples of this research has a specific focus on the effects of mechanical stimulation to enhance the synthesis and subsequent properties of developed cartilage tissue. c) Characterization of prostate tissues:  The objective of this research is to develop a scientific basis for better diagnosis techniques of prostate cancer. Specifically, the differences of cell geometry and topology between cancerous and normal tissue within the prostate are examined.