Sub-surface deformation of individual fingerprint ridges during tactile interactions.

ABSTRACT: The human fingertip can detect small tactile features with a spatial acuity roughly the width of a fingerprint ridge. However, how individual ridges deform under contact to support accurate and high-precision tactile feedback is currently unknown. The complex mechanical structure of the glabrous skin, composed of multiple layers and intricate morphology within which mechanoreceptors are embedded, makes this question challenging. Here, we used optical coherence tomography to image and track sub-surface deformations of hundreds of individual fingerprint ridges across ten participants and four individual contact events at high spatial resolution in vivo. We calculated strain patterns in both the stratum corneum and viable epidermis in response to a variety of passively applied tactile stimuli

SUBMITTER: Corniani G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12677895 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature