Fuji Prescale pressure-sensitive (or pressure-indicating) film ("Fuji film") is a convenient medium for recording pressure-distributions within an interface. A piece each of two sheets of film are cut to size and placed in the interface of interest. On the application of pressure, microscopic bubbles on one sheet burst, releasing stain-forming liquids onto the other sheet. The density of the resulting stain is compared to a chart which gives a value for the pressure. This chart provides compensation for the temperature and humidity dependency of the stain-forming mechanism: two charts are provided, for different load rates, given that this factor also affects the final stain.
Fuji film has been used extensively in the field of Biomechanics, most notably in the study of the interface pressures at joint surfaces (both physiological and prosthetic). Such use (which is probably far from that which Fuji originally intended) often requires the user to attain a high degree of spatial and pressure resolution from the film and to use it in complex interfaces and hostile environments (such as cadaveric joints). Full-field observations, rather than discrete measurements are also often desired. These demands have led to a number of studies aimed at quantifying the film's response characteristics and at producing techniques for accurately calibrating the film and producing digital full-field pressure-maps.
The newcomer to the use of Fuji film in Biomechanics can face an upward struggle trying to gather suitable information on which to base protocols for the application of this material and the analysis of its output. Between 1990 and 1995 (in the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, University of Western Ontario, Canada), I was involved in a number of projects to define the stain-characteristics of Fuji film and to develop standard techniques for its use. Below, I've listed the articles (abstracts and book chapter) by myself and others on these aspects (related to Biomechanics), plus links to commercial sites. Please feel free to send additional material for inclusion on this page.
 and Abstracts by A.B. Liggins et al. |
Other Researchers |
Sites |
Homepage |
Please note that reprints of the work conducted in the Orthopaedic Research
Lab, London, Canada, can be obtained by contacting me at:
liggins@telus.net.