{"doi":"10.26153/tsw/63808","title":"Towards a Protocol for Measuring the Pressure Exerted on the Body by Surgical Bras","abstract":"A surgical bra is a medical garment worn after procedures such as mastectomy and breast reconstruction. Surgical bras entered the market in the 1970s, but their design has not been optimized for clinical outcomes. Compression, a key feature of surgical bras, is defined as a reduction in volume from the act of physical pressure pushing something into a smaller space. Pressure is the physical force per unit area that is exerted on the object. Post-surgical compression clinically reduces fluid volume, scar hypertrophy, pain, and itching. However, the optimal amount, distribution, and duration of pressure a surgical bra should exert to promote recovery remains unknown. Many brands claim their bras offer compression using pressure gradients, but provide no pressure ranges or usage guidelines. This project develops an evidence- based protocol for measuring the pressure surgical bras exert on the body, informed by methods used to optimize other medical compression garments, relevant non-medical garment literature, and prior stakeholder needs assessments. Estimating exerted pressure first requires characterizing fabric stiffness. Our protocol employs the ASTM D5034 grab method to collect force and elongation data, yielding stress, strain, linearity, percent elongation, tensile energy, tensile resistance, and elastic recovery. Beyond modeling, the protocol includes direct mechanical testing using small, flexible pressure sensors capable of measuring 0.5–15 kPa, which has been documented in the literature as the approximate pressure applied to breast tissue. Sensors are placed at key anatomical locations, including the inframammary fold and shoulder strap regions. Testing is conducted across common postures, sitting, standing, and supine, and incorporates pressure-time curves to account for repeated wear. This protocol will contribute to standardized surgical bra assessment and lay the groundwork for optimizing compressive properties to support post-surgical recovery.","journal":"Open MIND","year":2025,"id":588051,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9594,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1504390,"name":"Griffin Shelley","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1344171,"name":"Margaret S. Roubaud","orcid":"0000-0002-3214-0329","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1344420,"name":"Marie Karen Bravo Moix","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":646203,"name":"Jonathan Y. Chen","orcid":"0000-0001-6868-1824","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":372030,"name":"Mia K. Markey","orcid":"0000-0001-8186-4959","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1504389,"name":"Athena Louise Lopez","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:59:43.096742Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}