Suture Techniques on Chicken Skin: Image Analysis to Determine Recovery
Percentage
Name: Phillip Santoiemma
Class: BE 210
The main hypothesis in this experiment is that the recovery percentage Pulley Stitch method will be significantly different than the Vertical Mattress technique. The Pulley Stitch Method should have larger recovery percentages than the vertical mattress technique and the aim of the experiment will be to test if that difference is significant or not. Recovery percentage is deemed to be an important property of sutures because stitches in a patient’s skin are used to maintain stability in a wound, hold the wound together, and return the wound to its original structure after strain. Therefore the stitch with the best recovery percentage after loading is the most useful and should be preferred in all medical procedures.
Another goal of the experiment is to ensure that there is enough data (minimum n=5) so that a comparison between the two suture techniques, based on recovery percentage, can be successfully accomplished. In essence, this experiment is designed to determine which suturing technique (Vertical Mattress or Pulley Stitch) is superior. However, chicken skin is used instead of a cloth surrogate as in previous labs. So, not only will suture techniques be compared, but they will be compared in more real-life conditions that represent real suturing of human skin.