Development of a Miniature Strain Gauge

The cervical facet joint capsule is the major origin of neck pain. To in vivo test the cervical facet capsule strain, a flexible, miniature strain gauge was developed. A special liquid metal served as the strain sensitive element, and a tubular structure was selected as the configuration of this miniature strain gauge. Calibration tests and rear-end crash simulation experiments were performed to analyses the behavior of this new gauge. A physical head-neck model or living goat model was used as a human surrogate. Experiment results indicated the good linearity and stability of this miniature strain gauge. With the improvement of structural designs and manufacturing techniques, the miniature strain gauge stated in this paper has the potential to in vivo test the cervical facet capsule strain.