SynTissue® as a surrogate material for the human scalp

Abstract

Synthetic skin produced by SynDaver®, currently used primarily in medical testing and training applications, may be suitable as a surrogate for human skin in forensic investigations. To determine how accurately the company's synthetic skin, SynTissue®, could mimic the mechanical properties of human skin, tests were conducted to measure its elastic modulus and resistance to laceration. Test results were compared to published data acquired from tensile tests conducted on human scalp and impacts with blunt objects on porcine heads. The stress vs strain relation for SynTissue® 8 N corresponded closely to that of the human scalp. Deformations similar to skin lacerations were observed when SynTissue® was subjected to blunt object impacts, at forces in the range of those reported for lacerations of cadaver and porcine heads. However, the published data are insufficient to unequivocally assess the suitability of SynTissue® for forensic investigations of lacerations. Moreover, there are features of the SynTissue® impact deformations that can provide useful information even if the laceration threshold turns out to be lower than that of human skin.