This inexpensive device can be used to evaluate the mechanical properties of long bones after various interventions to improve fracture healing. The device can be adapted for use with any single-axis linear motion testing machine. Assessment of fracture healing often includes loading to failure in torsion (1-5). Torsional testing is typically performed using a biaxial servohydraulic testing machine or similar sophisticated electromechanical equipment. Due to its high cost, many researchers do not have such equipment at their disposal. However, uniaxial tension-compression testing machines are widely available. Therefore, a device that can be used to perform torsional testing in a tension-compression machine would be beneficial. In this study we present a custom fixture for converting the vertical linear motion of a universal testing machine to rotational motion and validate its performance in torsional testing of canine tibiae.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.