Characterization of an inflatable soft actuator and tissue interaction for in vitro mechanical stimulation of tissue

Technology to improve tissue development is constantly being improved and refined. Soft robots have been utilized in medical settings due to their compliant nature, reducing the stiffness gradient at tissue-device interfaces. In this paper, we present a pneumatically actuated soft stimulating balloon capable of applying up to 70% strain to a phantom tissue construct at a pressure of 0.3 bar. Ecoflex^TM0050 is used as a biocompatible material for the membrane, and the interaction between the two was investigated by varying the scaffold stiffness and initial tension. Data from video tracking was used to compute the tensile strain applied to the scaffold. We present here, the first steps of characterizing the device for in vitro implementation and further integration into a custom bioreactor.