Experimental Assessment of the Mechanical Behavior of Impression Material for Anaesthesiology Use: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

This study examines a silicone material designed for a high precision impressions. We explore the possibility of using this material for creation of patient specific obturator for soft tissue protection of upper jaw while intubating neonatal patients with cleft palate. The biaxial tensile tests were performed to examine the material properties of the selected silicon material. Specimen were compressed in 2-part mold made by 3D printing technology. The preliminary results suggest isotropic properties (p-value 0.198), showing no statistically significant differences between measured directions. The study also suggests potential viscoelastic behavior since the slowest deformation speed showed slightly different behavior compared to the higher strain rate. However, this is just a preliminary study thus, to strengthen the study's reliability, further validation on larger datasets is recommended.