A serrated jaw clamp for tendon gripping

Abstract

Mechanical testing of tendon and application of muscular tendon forces in cadaveric or animal studies requires the use of a clamp to hold the tendon rigidly at high loads without damaging it. Frozen type serrated clamp was able to achieve the objective but is less readily available and manageable because of its complex and massive configuration. In this study, a custom-made, serrated jaw clamp was fabricated. Maximum tension before visual slippage was monitored during tensile testing of a bovine tendon. The non-frozen serrated jaw clamp was able to sustain tension forces of more than 2500 N and strain of about 30% without slippage and cutting of the tendon. The jaw clamp can be easily customised and fabricated for biomechanical studies to hold tendons of different sizes. The commercially available, serrated plastic material enables the jaw clamp to be custom-made with minimal workmanship and manufacturing time.