African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and

Development

ISSN: 2042-1338 (Print) 2042-1346 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rajs20

Influence of electro-polishing characteristics on

needle-tissue interaction forces

Mubita Kapui & Ramesh Kuppuswamy

To cite this article: Mubita Kapui & Ramesh Kuppuswamy (2017): Influence of electro-polishing
characteristics on needle-tissue interaction forces, African Journal of Science, Technology,
Innovation and Development, DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2017.1359446

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2017.1359446

Published online: 29 Aug 2017.

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 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 2017
https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2017.1359446
© 2017 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development

Influence of electro-polishing characteristics on needle-tissue interaction forces

Mubita Kapui * and Ramesh Kuppuswamy

Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
*Corresponding author email: kpxmub001@myuct.ac.za

The electro-polishing process was applied to stainless steel 304 with the aim of improving its surface texture. The electrolyte
was a mixture of H2O, H2SO4 (98%) and H3PO4 (85%) at a volume ratio of 2:3:5. Gravimetric analysis and stylus
profilometry were used to analyze the samples. It was observed that the material removed during the electro-polishing
process could be controlled to an error limit of 6%. The surfaces obtained showed improved cleanness and reduced
surface roughness (Ra). Hypodermic needles were then electro-polished using the same parameters with the aim of
reducing forces during needle insertion into tissue. The needle tips were analyzed using a SEM. The needles were tested
using silicone phantoms as a tissue substitute. The forces during insertion were less for all the electro-polished needles,
with the most consistent results obtained at a current density of 0.66 A/cm2. A theoretical model of the needle insertion
forces at different insertion depths was developed.
Downloaded by [Stockholm University Library] at 01:36 02 September 2017

Keywords: electrochemistry, polishing, surface, roughness, forces

Introduction workpiece surface which has a higher resistance than the

Hypodermic needles are useful when percutaneous diag-
nosis or treatment is required. With the advent of surgical
robots and minimally invasive treatment of cancer, such as
radio frequency ablation (RFA) and percutaneous ethanol
injection treatment (PEIT) (Abdullah et al. 2014; Koethe
et al. 2014), an understanding of needle insertion mech-
anics is vital. This is due to the need for very good inser-
tion accuracy, which depends on the insertion mechanics
(Kobayashi, Sato, and Fujie 2009).
In recent years, research has been done regarding
needle insertion forces and tissue deformation for a
variety of tissues (Kobayashi, Sato, and Fujie 2009;
Okamura, Simone, and O’leary 2004; Barnett, Lee, and
Moore 2016; Zhao et al. 2016). It is understood that the
main factors affecting insertion accuracy are needle deflec-
tion and tissue deflection. Hypodermic needle deflection is
attributed to the needle geometry and the mechanical prop-
erties of the tissue. Tissue deflection is the result of a com-
bination of the needle tip contact force, mechanical
properties of the tissue and frictional forces between the
needle shaft and the tissue (Abolhassani, Patel, and
Moallem 2004). Tissue deflection makes percutaneous
treatments difficult as the area being targeted for treatment
shifts as the tissue is deformed. The aim of our study was
to reduce needle tip contact force and the frictional forces
between the needle shaft and the tissue by applying a con-
trolled electro-polishing process.
Electro-polishing
Electro-polishing is an electrochemical material removal
process. The workpiece is connected as the anode in an
electrochemical cell. The power supply can be either DC
or AC, depending on the application. The electrolyte
used in the electro-polishing of stainless steel is usually
a combination of sulphuric and phosphoric acids
(Rokosz et al. 2015a, 2015b; Choi et al. 2016). When
the power supply is turned on, material is removed from
the anode on an ionic level in accordance with Faraday’s
laws of electrolysis. A viscous layer forms over the
bulk of the electrolyte. This results in the peaks and
valleys on the workpiece surface experiencing different
current densities. The peaks, being closer to the bulk of
the electrolyte, experience a higher current density than
the valleys which leads to their preferential dissolution.
This results in the smoothing of the workpiece surface.
The amount of material removed can be accurately
controlled to approximately 0.0005 inches (Howard
1972). This is very useful as it is important that the
needle geometry and size be mostly maintained or at the
very least correctly predicted.
The electro-polishing process is mainly used to substi-
tute mechanical polishing as a means of obtaining smooth
surfaces. When applied to stainless steel, it produces
clean, smooth surfaces with increased corrosion resistance
(Nazneen et al. 2012; Núñez et al. 2013). These properties
make the electro-polishing process an ideal surface treat-
ment for biomedical applications. It has been used on stain-
less steel cardiovascular stents as a means of improving the
surface texture and improving corrosion resistance (Latifi
et al. 2013; Habibzadeh et al. 2014). Some research has
also been conducted on the electro-polishing of needles,
although the available work mainly focuses on surgical
needles. In one study, a device was developed for the
electro-polishing of drilled surgical needles (Howard
1972). The needles were electro-polished after they had
undergone a sharpening grinding process. They obtained
needles with a mirror-like finish free of discoloration and
surface defects after electro-polishing. The removal of
surface protrusions and defects such as burrs reduces
tissue trauma during needle insertion (Brown et al. 1999;
Schaeffer 2007). While a number of needle manufacturers
includes electro-polishing as one of their manufacturing
steps, there is not much information on the electro-polishing
of hypodermic needles available at the moment.
Needle insertion mechanics
Several studies have been conducted to determine the
nature of the forces present during needle insertion into

African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development is co-published by Taylor & Francis and NISC (Pty) Ltd
 2 Kapui and Kuppuswamy
various forms of tissue or phantoms. An area of significant
interest is the modelling of these forces so as to improve
the accuracy of surgical robots and simulators (Misra
et al. 2010). The most common approach is to model the
forces with respect to needle displacement. Forces are
then modelled based on a variety of different approaches,
including viscoelasticity (Zhao et al. 2016), fracture mech-
anics (Barnett, Lee, and Moore 2016) and data fitting via
different methods (Maurin et al. 2004; Okamura,
Simone, and O’leary 2004).
In some cases, the aim is to reduce the magnitude of
the forces present during needle insertion. This leads to
a reduction in tissue deformation, which improves the
effectiveness of treatments such as prostate brachytherapy.
Abolhassani, Patel, and Moallem (2004) applied different
rotations to needles with the aim of reducing insertion
forces. It was found that both maximum and friction
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forces were reduced for each of the rotation parameters.
The effect of needle insertion speed on the insertion
forces has been studied by Okamura, Simone, and
O’leary (2004) and Podder et al. (2006). Both studies
found that higher insertion speeds lead to an increase in
the insertion forces. Podder et al. (2006) measured the
insertion speed of a needle during prostate brachytherapy.
They found that the speed varied from 0 mm/min to
54,000 mm/min.
The past studies presented in this chapter show that a
comprehensive amount of work has been done on a
number of factors affecting needle insertion forces.
However, there is nothing in the present literature on the
effects of the electro-polishing process on the needle-
tissue interaction forces.
Objectives
The objectives of our work were to reduce needle insertion
forces of hypodermic needles by applying a controlled
electro-polishing process. Electro-polishing was applied
to the needles with the aim of improving their surface
texture and cutting-edge geometry so as to reduce the fric-
tion and cutting forces during needle insertion.
The study also aimed to determine the effect of differ-
ent electro-polishing parameters on the needle insertion
forces and to develop an analytical force model which
includes the effects of electro-polishing on the needle
insertion forces.
Materials and methods
Electro-polishing experiments
The sample to be electro-polished was connected to the
positive terminal (as the anode) of a direct current power
supply, and the cathodic (−) side was connected to a stain-
less steel 304 cathode. Both electrodes were immersed in
an acidic electrolyte. Prior to electro-polishing of the
hypodermic needles, the composition and concentration
of the electrolyte was optimized by making use of stainless
steel 304 coupons with a 6 mm diameter and a 20 mm
length. The final electrolyte was a mixture of H2O,
H2SO4 (98%) and H3PO4 (85%) at a volume ratio of
2:3:5. The coupons were cleaned in acetone and rinsed
with deionized water prior to electro-polishing. The
acetone removed any grease and organic residue which
was left on the coupons as a result of machining and hand-
ling, while the deionized water removed any acetone that
did not evaporate from the coupon surface. Deionized
water was used because it has had the ions of any
mineral salts dissolved in the water removed. The ions
would interfere with the electro-chemical reactions in the
cell which would, in turn, affect the electro-polishing
results. A DC power supply was used. No rotation or agi-
tation was used. The coupons were rinsed with acetone
and deionized water after electro-polishing to remove
any acid residue and products from the electro-chemical
reactions from the coupon surface. The mass of the
coupons was determined before and after electro-polishing
by weighing them using an electronic balance. The exper-
iment had two independent variables, each with three
levels. The variables were the electro-polishing current
and electro-polishing time. The experiments were
created using a 32 factorial design. The experiment par-
ameters are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Electro-polishing parameters.
Experiment Time (min) Current density (A/cm2)
1 5 0.16
2 10 0.16
3 15 0.16
4 5 0.66
5 10 0.66
6 15 0.66
7 5 1.70
8 10 1.70
9 15 1.70
A Taylor-Hobson Surftronic 3P stylus profilometer
was used to evaluate the surface roughness of the
coupons. The surfaces were further analyzed using a Leo
1450 scanning electron microscope.
The needles were electro-polished using the same elec-
trolyte, parameters and procedures as the coupons. It must
be noted that the maximum current/time combination for
electro-polishing the needles was limited by the small
mass of the hypodermic needles. The needle tips and
bevel surfaces were evaluated using a Leo 1450 scanning
electron microscope.
Needle insertion experiments
Needle insertion forces were measured using a Röeders
RFM600 high speed machining centre in conjunction with
a Kistler 9257A piezo-dynamometer. The force signatures
were captured using a Dewesoft Dewe-43 data acquisition
system (DAQ). Silicone phantoms were used as a substitute
for human tissue. The silicone phantoms were held in a
specially designed holding device which was then positioned
in the machining centre using a mechanical vice. 21G × 1.5
inches (0.8 × 40 mm) lancet point hypodermic needles were
used. The needles were held in place using an ER8 collet
which was attached to the spindle by means of a modified
adaptor. The set-up is shown in Figure 1.
The spindle movement was limited to 1 degree of
freedom (vertical). Rotation of the needle was not con-
sidered in this study. An insertion speed of 2000 mm/min
 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 3
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Figure 1: Force testing set-up.
was used and data were captured at a sampling frequency
of 5 kHz. A fixed insertion speed was used to limit the
focus to the effects of electro-polishing on the needle
insertion forces. Force data were recorded during needle
insertion. No data were recorded during needle extraction.
Every new insertion was made at different points in the
phantoms to avoid previously created holes.
Friction force model
An analytical force model was developed based on
the change in surface area and surface texture of the hypo-
dermic needles after electro-polishing. The needle surface
is assumed to have a sinusoidal profile defined by
Equation 1.




Ra 2p 2p
h(x, y) = sin x + sin y (1)
2 l l
where h is the vertical displacement of the surface from the
mean at a given position. Ra is the arithmetic mean roughness
and λ is the wavelength of the profile. x and y are the spatial
ranges of the contact surface. The wavelengths are assumed
to be equal in both directions. The ranges x and y are the
length and the circumference of the needles in the contact
zone, respectively. Equation 1 is a simplified representation
of the surface, as it does not take into account the Gaussian
random nature of the surface asperities. The effect of
electro-polishing on the surface asperities is the focus of
the current work, thus Equation 1 is sufficient because it
incorporates the surface roughness value (Ra) measured
during the experiments. A similar simplification was made
by Kuppuswamy and Mubita (2015) with good results.
It is assumed that the wavelength does not change after
electro-polishing as there is no mechanical contact during
the process. The surface peaks are preferentially attacked
which leads to sinusoids of the same wavelength having
reduced amplitude. The contact was modelled based on
the Hertzian contact theory. The theory was originally
developed for elastic contacts with small strains but has
since been extended to cover the contact of materials
with larger deformations such as elastomers (Wu, Lin,
and Juang 2016). The peaks of the sinusoidal waveform
are replaced by spheres by finding the curvature of the
waveform at the peaks as follows:
|y′′ |
k= (2)
(1 + y′2 )3/2
where y = f (x) is the function given by Equation 1 in one
direction only. Substituting the first and second derivatives
of Equation 1 and simplifying yields
4p2
k = Ra (3)
l2
the radius of the contact sphere is given by R = 1/κ. The
depth of indentation of an asperity onto the silicone
surface is given by Johnson and Johnson (1987, 93)

1/3
9P2
d= (4)
16E ′2 R
where P is the normal load and E’ = E/(1−ν 2). E and ν are
the Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio of the silicone
respectively.
The real area of contact, Ar, is given by
Ar = pRd (5)
and
Total Ar = pNRd (6)
where N is the total number of asperities on the needle
surface at the needle-tissue interface and δ is the depth
of indentation of an asperity as defined in Equation 4. N
is given by Nx*Ny, where Nx and Ny are the total
number of asperities in the x and y directions respectively.
The total frictional shear stress at the needle-silicone
contact zone can then be found using the following
expression:
Fr
t= (7)
Total Ar
Needle insertion force theoretical model
The needle insertion force is modelled as five stages
according to the different events during needle insertion.
In stage 1, the needle makes contact with the phantom
but its surface is not punctured. It has generally been
agreed that the force at this stage is due to stiffness of
the phantom (Okamura, Simone, and O’leary 2004). In
stage 2, the needle penetrates the phantom. Friction and
cutting forces act on the needle. Both the friction and
cutting force increase linearly with the insertion depth.
In stage 3, the whole of the cutting edge is inside the
 4 Kapui and Kuppuswamy

phantom. The cutting force reaches a constant maximum

value, but friction continues to increase with insertion
depth. In stage 4, the needle tip exits the phantom. Force
due to tissue stiffness and cutting reduces as the cutting
edge exits the phantom. In the final stage, only the shaft
friction force acts on the needle as the needle cutting
edge is completely outside the phantom.
The forces in stage 1 are modelled based on the ana-
lytic expression developed by Love (1939) and Sneddon
(1965) which has been found to fit experimental data
well for conical indenters (Cheng and Cheng 2004).

2E tan a 2
F1 = x (8)
p(1 − n2 )

where E = 0.152 MPa and ν = 0.5 are the Young’s modulus

and Poisson’s ratio of the silicone respectively. The com- Figure 2: Comparison of theoretical and measured amounts of
Downloaded by [Stockholm University Library] at 01:36 02 September 2017

material removed during electro-polishing.

ponent of force due to viscous friction is not considered
here because a constant insertion speed was used. A
linear increase/decrease in the cutting and friction force The measured values of the mass of material removed
with insertion depth is used. The insertion force is given were compared with the theoretical values. The results are
by shown in Figure 2.
⎧ It was observed that the theoretical values were similar
⎪
⎪
2E tan a 2
for 0 ≤ x ≤ 5
to the measured values with an error of about 6%.
⎪
⎪ x (F1 )
⎪
⎪ p(1 − n2 )
⎨
F1 (5) + fr x + fc x for 6 ≤ x ≤ 9 (F2 )
F= Surface texture
⎪
⎪ F2 (9) + fr x for 10 ≤ x ≤ 15 (F3 )
⎪
⎪ The surface texture obtained after electro-polishing was
⎪
⎪ F (15) − f1 x − Fc x for 16 ≤ x ≤ 19 (F4 )
⎩ 3
analyzed by comparing the change in the arithmetic
F4 (19) for 20 ≤ x ≤ 30 (F5 )
mean roughness value for each of the electro-polishing
(9)
conditions. This was done by making use of a polishing
percentage (ΔRa%) as defined by Núñez et al. (2013). It
where fr and fc are the friction and cutting force per unit
is shown in Equation 12.
length, and f1 is stiffness force (from stage 1) per unit
length. The maximum values of fr, fc and f1 are denoted

Ria − Rfa
by Fr, Fc and F1_max. Fc is determined from the measured DRa % = × 100% (12)
data using the following expression: Ria

where Ria and Rfa are the initial and final arithmetic mean
Fc = Fmax − F1 max − Fr (10)
roughness values of the stainless steel 304 coupons. The
results are shown in Figure 3.
where Fmax is the maximum force measured during needle
It is observed that the electro-polishing current and
insertion.
time have a significant impact on the surface texture. At

Results and discussion

Material removal rate
The material removed from each coupon was determined
by measuring its mass before and after electro-polishing.
Theoretical values were then obtained using Faraday’s
laws of electrolysis as shown in Equation 11 (Jensen
2012).

EW .I.t
m= (11)
F

where m is the mass of material removed in grams, I is the

current and t is the electro-polishing time. EW is the equiv-
alent weight which depends on the chemical composition
of the workpiece and the electrolyte. F is Faraday’s Figure 3: Effect of electro-polishing on surface texture for the
constant. different electro-polishing conditions.
 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 5

a current density of 0.16 A/cm2, the change in surface
texture is not consistent. This is likely because the
current is below the threshold value required for the
electro-polishing process to take place. It is widely
accepted that four different mechanisms take place on a
stainless steel surface when exposed to varying currents
in an electrolytic cell (Chen, Tu, and Huang 2005).
These are oxidation, passivation, diffusion limited
current and oxygen evolution. Past studies agree that
electro-polishing occurs in the diffusion limited current
region (Magaino, Matlosz, and Landolt 1993; Matlosz,
Magaino, and Landolt 1994; Chen, Tu, and Huang 2005;
Nazneen et al. 2012). The results obtained for a current
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density of 0.66 A/cm2 are favourable and show an
almost linear trend.
Figure 4 shows SEM micrographs of the needle bevel
edges after being electro-polished using different parameters.
It is observed that the bevel surface of the standard
needle has more scratches, striations and foreign particles
than any of the electro-polished needles. The reduced
roughness and improved cleanness of the electro-polished
surfaces agrees with the results obtained in previous
studies (Awad et al. 2012; Nazneen et al. 2012; Latifi
et al. 2013).The smoother and cleaner surfaces reduce
the amount of friction present at the needle-tissue interface
during needle insertion. It can also be seen that the bevel

Figure 4: SEM micrographs of bevel edges for needles electro-polished at different parameters (magnification: 1500×).
 6 Kapui and Kuppuswamy
thickness reduced with an increase in electro-polishing
time at each of the currents. This leads to the sharpening
of the needle cutting edges resulting in reduced cutting
forces during needle insertion. While the needle tips
showed improvement with increased electro-polishing
current and time, the maximum useable parameters were
limited by the small mass of hypodermic needles. The
removal of too much material from the needle surface
resulted in the needle wall rupturing. This is followed by
the complete dissolution of the needle in the electrolyte.
Such a situation is easy to avoid as the amount of material
removed can be controlled by controlling the electro-pol-
ishing parameters. Consequently, electro-polishing for
more than 10 minutes at a current of 0.82 amps should
be avoided.
Needle insertion forces
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The forces present at the needle-tissue interface during
needle insertion into the phantom were captured and
plotted against time as shown in Figure 5.
It is observed that the maximum forces present during
needle insertion are reduced for all electro-polishing par-
ameters. Despite this, the reduction in forces is not
uniform and differs for each of the electro-polishing
Figure 5: (a) Insertion forces at J = 0.16 A/cm2. (b) Insertion forces at J = 0.66 A/cm2. (c) Insertion forces at J = 1.70 A/cm2.
currents. From Figure 5(a), the maximum forces decrease
in a non-uniform way with an increase in electro-
polishing time. While the decrease in force for the times
of 5 and 15 minutes is within an expected range, the
time of 10 minutes produces a much lower force value
than expected.
The erratic nature of the force data obtained for a
current of 0.2 A is not unexpected, as the surface texture
results presented earlier were also inconsistent. This
could possibly be explained by the fact that both the
cutting and friction forces have a large impact on the
overall force during needle insertion (Okamura, Simone,
and O’leary 2004). The electro-polishing process is
known to produce sharper cutting edges on micro-
needles when applied in a controlled manner (Gill and
Prausnitz 2007). It has also been shown to increase the
hydrophilicity of stainless steel surfaces (Latifi et al.
2013). This leads to reduced friction at the needle-tissue
interface because of the increased lubrication. These
additional factors could likely play a role in the relation-
ship between the electro-polishing time and the insertion
forces at a current of 0.2 A. The large drop in force,
however, cannot fully be accounted for. This discrepancy
is not present at higher currents.
 African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development 7
Figure 6: Frictional shear stress at needle-tissue for different
electro-polishing parameters.
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From Figure 5(b), the insertion forces are observed to
change more uniformly for needles electro-polished at
0.82 A. This agrees with the surface texture results pre-
sented earlier. It was previously stated that a polishing
time exceeding 10 minutes resulted in the rupture of the
needle wall, thus needles were electro-polished for only
5 and 10 minutes. The maximum force obtained for the
standard needle was 6.61 N. The maximum forces for
electro-polishing times of 5 and 10 minutes were 5.29 N
and 4.70 N, respectively, corresponding to force
reductions of 19.9% and 28.9%.
It can be seen from Figure 5(c) that the maximum force
during insertion is reduced for the needles electro-polished
at 2.11 A for 5 minutes. The maximum force obtained was
4.87 N, equivalent to a force reduction of 26.4%. This is
consistent with the surface texture results, as the reduction
in force falls between that of needles electro-polished at a
current of 0.82 A for times of 10 and 15 minutes. While
Figure 7: Experimental and theoretical needle insertion forces.
the current is above the optimum, electro-polishing still
takes place with an improvement in surface texture until
pitting occurs on the stainless steel surface. In the case
of the hypodermic needles used in this study, the polishing
time permissible before excess material removal is insuffi-
cient for pitting to occur. Another effect of this limitation
is that no meaningful relationship could be determined for
the change in forces with polishing time, as the high
current only allowed for an electro-polishing time of 5
minutes before dissolution of the needle in the electrolyte
occurred.
Friction force
The frictional shear stress for the different electro-polish-
ing conditions is shown in Figure 6.
It is observed that the stress reduces uniformly as the
electro-polishing time is increased at a current of 0.82
A. This is due to two main factors; the improved wettabil-
ity of the stainless steel needle surface and the reduction of
the real area of contact at the needle-silicone interface. It
has been shown that more hydrophilic surfaces exhibit
lower coefficients of friction in aqueous environments
(Borruto, Crivellone, and Marani 1998). The reduction
in frictional shear stress is 27% and 46% for electro-pol-
ishing times of 5 and 10 minutes, respectively.
Theoretical model
Figure 7 shows the theoretical and measured insertion
forces as a function of insertion depth.
The friction forces are reduced with an increase in
electro-polishing time. This is expected based on the
work presented in the previous section. The cutting
forces are also reduced. This agrees with the findings of
Moore et al. (2011) who found a positive correlation
between both the needle outer diameter and wall thickness
with the cutting force. From the section called ‘Needle
insertion force theoretical model’, a linear relationship
 8 Kapui and Kuppuswamy
Table 2: Needle friction and cutting forces per unit insertion
depth.
Electropolishing parameters fr (N/mm) fc (N/mm)
Unpolished 0.277 0.496
I = 0.82 A, t = 5 min 0.213 0.327
I = 0.82 A, t = 10 min 0.157 0.317
was used to describe the change in the cutting and friction
forces with the insertion depth of the needle into the
phantom. The values of fr and fc for the different electro-
polishing parameters are shown in Table 2.
Conclusions
The electro-polishing process was successfully used to
improve the surface texture of stainless steel. The best
improvement in surface texture was found to occur at
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2.11 A and 10 mins, achieving a 65% improvement.
However, the most consistent improvements were found
to occur at a current of 0.93 A where an almost linear
trend was observed. The maximum improvement obtained
at this current was 63%. The mass of material removed
could be predicted to an accuracy of 6% based on Fara-
day’s laws of electrolysis.
All the electro-polished needles showed a reduction in
maximum forces experienced during needle insertion. The
experienced insertion forces, like the surface texture, was
inconsistent for an electro-polishing current of 0.2 A. The
reduction in insertion forces followed an almost linear
trend for the needles electro-polished at 0.82 A. This
suggests a linear correlation between the electro-polishing
time and the forces experienced during needle insertion for
an optimum electro-polishing current.
A theoretical model was developed which linked the
electro-polishing parameters to insertion forces. Only the
forces obtained at a polishing current of 0.82 A were mod-
elled due to the consistency of the surface texture and
force data results. The contact at the needle-phantom inter-
face was modelled using the Hertzian contact theory. The
arithmetic mean surface roughness (Ra) and the surface
area of the needles were the changing parameters in the
model. The frictional shear stress was found to drop by
27% and 46% for polishing times of 5 and 10 minutes
respectively.
The forces during needle insertion for the whole inser-
tion depth were modelled according to the different stages
of entry. Five stages, each with different combinations of
forces, were identified. The forces are cutting, friction
and stiffness force. The model was found to fit the
measured data well.
ORCID
Mubita Kapui http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5403-4535
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