Optical fibre sensor for measuring the dynamic mechanical properties of viscoleastic solids

Changes in the health of tissue can be correlated with changes in the stiffness of the tissue. However, tissue stiffness is difficult to measure accurately, as tissue displays both viscous and elastic material properties. The contribution of each of the characteristics changes depending on the rate at which they are measured. This thesis developed and tested a new method to measure these properties across a range of frequencies, based on an optical fibre sensor. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, which offers the potential for a small, reliable and non-invasive portable measurement system for early disease diagnosis.