Experimental study on needle insertion force to minimize tissue deformation in tongue tissue

•Maximum needle insertion force and tissue deformation strongly depend on insertion velocity and tip geometry.•For thin needles (30-32G), the maximum insertion force does not correlate with needle diameter.•The needles tested showed no increase in maximum insertion force during multiple insertions in soft tissue. This study reports on the effects of insertion velocity, needle tip geometry and needle diameter on tissue deformation and maximum insertion force. Moreover, the effect of multiple insertions with the same needle on the maximum insertion force is reported. The tissue deformation and maximum insertion force strongly depend on the insertion velocity and the tip geometry. No correlation was found between the outer diameter and the maximum insertion force for small needles (30G – 32G). The endurance experiments showed no remarkable difference in the maximum insertion force during 100 insertions.