Modelling the effects of age-related morphological and mechanical skin changes on the stimulation of tactile mechanoreceptors
File(s)Revised Manuscript.docx (1.29 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Jobanputra, Rikeen
Boyle, Colin
Dini, Daniele
Masen, Marc
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Our sense of fine touch deteriorates as we age, a phenomenon typically associated with neurological changes to the skin. However, geometric and material changes to the skin may also play an important role on tactile perception and have not been studied in detail. Here, a finite element model is utilised to assess the extent to which age-related structural changes to the skin influence the tactile stimuli experienced by the mechanoreceptors. A numerical, hyperelastic, four-layered skin model was developed to simulate sliding of the finger against a rigid surface. The strain, deviatoric stress and strain energy density were recorded at the sites of the Merkel and Meissner receptors, whilst parameters of the model were systematically varied to simulate age-related geometric and material skin changes. The simulations comprise changes in skin layer stiffness, flattening of the dermal-epidermal junction and thinning of the dermis. It was found that the stiffness of the skin layers has a substantial effect on the stimulus magnitudes recorded at mechanoreceptors. Additionally, reducing the thickness of the dermis has a substantial effect on the Merkel disc whilst the Meissner corpuscle is particularly affected by flattening of the dermal epidermal junction. In order to represent aged skin, a model comprising a combination of ageing manifestations revealed a decrease in stimulus magnitudes at both mechanoreceptor sites. The result from the combined model differed from the sum of effects of the individually tested ageing manifestations, indicating that the individual effects of ageing cannot be linearly superimposed. Each manifestation of ageing results in a decreased stimulation intensity at the Meissner Corpuscle site, suggesting that ageing reduces the proportion of stimuli meeting the receptor amplitude detection threshold. This model therefore offers an additional biomechanical explanation for tactile perceptive degradation amongst the elderly. Applications of the developed model are in the evaluation of cosmetics products aimed at mitigating the effects of ageing, e.g. through skin hydration and administration of antioxidants, as well as in the design of products with improved tactile sensation, e.g. through the optimisation of materials and surface textures.
Date Issued
2020-12
Date Acceptance
2020-08-26
Citation
Journal of The Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 2020, 112, pp.1-10
ISSN
1751-6161
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
1
End Page
10
Journal / Book Title
Journal of The Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
Volume
112
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751616120306226?via%3Dihub
Grant Number
EP/N025954/1
Subjects
Ageing
Finite element
Mechanoreceptor
Modelling
Skin
Tactile perception
Biomedical Engineering
0903 Biomedical Engineering
0912 Materials Engineering
0913 Mechanical Engineering
Publication Status
Published online
Article Number
104073
Date Publish Online
2020-09-01