ORIGINAL ARTICLE Force Requirements for Artificial Muscle to Create an Eyelid Blink With Eyelid Sling

mal vector, and appropriate materials of a novel eyelid sling device that will be used to rehabilitate eyelid clo-sure (blink) in congenital or acquired permanent facial paralysis with an artificial muscle. Methods: The force required to close the eyelids in human cadavers (n=6) were measured using a load cell system. The eyelid sling using either expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) or temporalis muscle fascia was implanted. The ideal vector of force and placement within the eyelid for a natural eyelid clo-sure were compared. Results: The eyelid sling concept was successful at cre-ating eyelid closure in a cadaver model using an upper eyelid sling attached to the distal tarsal plate. Less force was necessary to create eyelid closure using a tempora