Date of download: 10/27/2017 Copyright © ASME. All rights reserved. From: Characterization of Forces on the Sternal Midline Following Median Sternotomy in a Porcine Model J Biomech Eng. 2008;130(5):051004-051004-7. doi:10.1115/1.2948401 Figure Legend: Experimental setup showing (a) supine pig with skin and muscle retracted to expose sternum: A valsalva force was applied at the abdomen near the diaphragm and a phrenic cough was stimulated by applying a voltage to the phrenic nerve. An outline of the directional plating system is shown on the sternum. (b) Close-up of directional plating system used to measure forces in three orthogonal directions as indicated by the arrows; 222N(50lb) force transducers are shown from left to right in the (1) lateral direction at the manubrium, (2) cranial-caudal and (3) dorsal-ventral directions at the midsternum, and (4) lateral direction at the xiphoid. (c) Distributional plating system with 5lb(22.2N) force transducers placed laterally at the (1) manubrium and (2) xiphoid. Note that ball joints were attached to the force transducers from both plating systems to allow free movement in the directions not being measured.