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WHY

Skin creams are commonly used to improve skin health and create a smooth, soft, and moist perception. This is achieved by altering the surface roughness, friction, and adhesion of skin surface. Despite the fact that there are many commercial creams available, there is no consistent scientific approach to determine their frictional and adhesive properties.

WHY

One issue in the pharmaceutical industry, is the abrasion of processing components for pressing the powders. The intensity of the abrasion phenomena strongly depends on the composition and size of the processed powders. Up to date there is no fixed procedure on how to evaluate such abrasion phenomena, in conditions that simulate the realistic process.

WHY

Surgical suture, holding body tissue together after an injury or surgery, is a complex product.  The thread can be surface treated or coated for a number of reasons. One of them is to facilitate the insertion through tissue, the other to hold the knots tightly.  Friction of the suture over skin, is thus important to control.  Measuring skin-suture friction allows improvement of these threads and their surface treatment.

WHY

The failure of the hip replacement is often a combination of tribocorrosion of the hip joint materials and inflammations due to wear particles in the body. A new methodology needs to be developed so as to allow for a fast prescreening of the reliability of new biomaterials, in conditions that simulate the actual conditions (e.g. environment, motion, contact pressure, countermaterial).