1. Sternal force distribution during median sternotomy retraction
Philipp Aigner, MSc, Farsad Eskandary, MD, Thomas Schlöglhofer, BSc, Roman Gottardi, MD, Klaus Aumayr, MD, Günther Laufer, MD, Heinrich Schima, PhD 
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 
Volume 146, Issue 6, Pages (December 2013)
DOI: /j.jtcvs
Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions

2. Figure 1
Schematic of the tilting protection setup with a plate for an even load distribution on each foil sensor.
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jtcvs )
Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions

3. Figure 2
Final instrumented retractors (left, curved sternal retractor; right, straight sternal retractor) for force measurement before wrapping in plastic foil.
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jtcvs )
Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions

4. Figure 3
Exemplary force and retraction displacement (top) and force-displacement relationship (bottom) in corpse ID13. The arrow marks a decrease in total force due to an unlocated fracture. CSR, Curved sternal retractor; SSR, straight sternal retractor.
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jtcvs )
Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions

5. Figure 4
Different force distribution patterns over the sensor pairs in the straight sternal retractor (SSR; top) and curved sternal retractor (CSR; bottom).
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  , DOI: ( /j.jtcvs )
Copyright © 2013 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery Terms and Conditions