Morphology of Ruffini Endings and the Design of a Biomimetic Sensor

Ruffini endings have long been regarded as mechanoreceptors associated with slowly adapting type II (SA II) afferent fibers, a class of tactile affernts known to respond to sustained stretch deformation of the skin. Although the morphology and structural organization of Ruffini endings vary depending on the anatomical site in which they are found, they generally respond to tensile or stretch-related deformation of the surrounding tissue. In the present study, inspired by the sitedependent structural differences of Ruffini endings, we report a prototype strain-detection sensor embedded in an elastic medium that mimics these biological characteristics.