Mechanical Characterization of Vocal Fold Tissue: A Review Study

Human vocal folds undergo self-sustaining oscillations during phonation. The phonatory functions of the vocal folds depend on their mechanical properties. This article presents a review of various mechanical testing methods and constitutive models that are currently in use for the characterization of mechanical properties of the vocal fold tissue. Special attention is given to tissue deformation under mechanical loading at different length scales. The wide range of elastic modulus values reported in the literature is discussed and justified using a multiscale perspective. This study aims to provide a better understanding of mechanical properties that can be used to build computational simulations of vocal fold vibrations and pave the way for the design of biomaterials to restore biomechanical properties in damaged vocal folds.