Arterial Biomechanical Characterization under Gestational Hypoxia via Multi-Step Relaxation

Abstract

Gestational hypoxia, characterized by chronic fetal exposure to low oxygen levels during pregnancy, has been associated with structural and functional alterations in various tissues, including the cardiovascular system. This work implements the biomechanical characterization of thoracic aortas from guinea pigs subjected to gestational hypoxia, using equibiaxial testing and a multi-step stress relaxation protocol. This methodology allows for the decoupling of the elastic and viscoelastic components of the tissue’s mechanical response. The characterization will be carried out using the anisotropic Holzapfel- Gasser-Ogden (2006) model for the hyperelastic response and the nonlinear viscoelastic model proposed by Latorre (2015). Both models will be used in numerical simulations based on the finite element method to analyze the mechanical behavior of the tissue.