The mechanical
characterization of brain tissue is a complex task scientists have tried to
accomplish for over fifty years.
The results
in literature
often differ by orders of magnitude
because of the lack of a standard testing protocol. Different testing conditions (inc
luding
humidity, temperature, strain rate),
the
methodology
adopted
,
the variety of
the
species
analysed, are all potential sources of
discrepancies
in the measurements.
In this work we
present a rigorous experimental investigation on the mechanical proper
ties of human brain
,
covering both
gr
e
y and white matter.
The influence of testing conditions
is
also shown and
thoroughly
discussed.
The material characterisation performed is finally adopted to provide

inputs to
a
mathematical formulation suitable for
nu
merical s
i
mulations of brain deformation
during surgical procedures
.