Characterization of Biocompatible Materials Using Stereo Microscope 3D Digital Image Correlation

This paper presents the measurement of the sub‐micrometer deformation of biocompatible materials induced by mechanical and thermal loading with a newly developed stereoscopic microscope 3D digital image correlation (DIC) system. This technique combines a 3D DIC system based on two cameras in a stereoscopic setup with a stereoscopic microscope. This paper describes measurements of displacements in the range of 100 microns with an error of 0.1%, which is several times better than the accuracy provided by other comparable systems. The examined micro‐sized specimens are cut out of biocompatible material used for the construction of a pneumatic ventricular assist device. The results include a 3D surface profile, analysis of the sample surface deformations, and distribution of surface strains.