硬さ測定用触角センサによる皮膚の力学的特性の計測

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to show the ability of the new type tactile sensor in measuring softness of the skin. Usually, the sensory evaluation technique which has been employed in evaluating the mechanical properties of the skin is closely concerned with the performance of cosmetics. In this study, we apply a tactile sensor system which uses a vibration element and vibration pickup. The sensor vibrates at a resonant frequency and the frequency shifts when the top of the sensor touches to the subject. The resonance frequency is dependent on the softness of the subject, because the vibration mode is influenced by variation in the acoustic impedance of the sample. The experiments carried out in order to evaluate the softness of the various models in vitro. The results achieves by the sensor showed a good correlation with the stress measured by a rheometer and sense of touch. Furthermore, the skin softness modulation after adding creams and the improvement of skin softness for scaled skin by continuous applying cream were detected. The results demonstrated that the sensor was capable of detecting softness levels both in vivo and in vitro and was very compact system and easy to handle.