In order to study the response of the human body to acceleration and force, it is necessary to be able to relate force to deformation in various body tissues. Problems in which this becomes essential include aerospace travel, crash injury research, and shock/vibration environments produced by mechanical systems. Since the tissues within the human body are viscoelastic in nature, it is important to apply proper viscoelastic relations when investigating the mechanics of deformation.
An experimental technique for ootaining discrete viscoelastic models of soft biological tissues and the application of this technique (using guinea pig skin as an example) are described. Numerical results for the various viscoelastic parameters are presented, and discrete viscoelastic modeling and the necessary mathematical equations for relating deformation to force are discussed.