Finite Element Modeling of Penetrating Traumatic Brain Injuries

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A. Pintar ◽  
Srirangam Kumaresan ◽  
Brian Stemper ◽  
Narayan Yoganandan ◽  
Thomas A. Gennarelli

Abstract Recent advances in the treatment of penetrating gunshot wounds to the head have saved lives. These advances are largely reported using retrospective analysis of patients with recommendations for treatment. Biomechanical quantification of intracranial deformation/stress distribution associated with the type of weapon (e.g., projectile geometry) will advance clinical understanding of the mechanics of penetrating wounds. The present study was designed to delineate the biomechanical behavior of the human head under penetrating impact of two different projectile geometries using a nonlinear, three-dimensional finite element model. The human head model included the skull and brain. The qualitative comparison of the model output with each type of projectile during various time steps indicates that the deformation/stress progresses as the projectile penetrates the tissue. There is also a distinct difference in the patterns of displacement for each type of projectile. The present study is a first step in the study of the biomechanics of penetrating traumatic brain injuries.

Author(s):  
Tanu Khanuja ◽  
Harikrishnan Narayanan Unni

Traumatic brain injuries are life-threatening injuries that can lead to long-term incapacitation and death. Over the years, numerous finite element human head models have been developed to understand the injury mechanisms of traumatic brain injuries. Many of these models are erroneous and used ellipsoidal or spherical geometries to represent brain. This work is focused on the development of high-quality, comprehensive three-dimensional finite element human head model with accurate representation of cerebral sulci and gyri structures in order to study traumatic brain injury mechanisms. Present geometry, predicated on magnetic resonance imaging data consist of three rudimentary components, that is, skull, cerebrospinal fluid with the ventricular system, and the soft tissues comprising the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem. The brain is modeled as a hyperviscoelastic material. Meshed model with 10 nodes modified tetrahedral type element (C3D10M) is validated against two cadaver-based impact experiments by comparing the intracranial pressures at different locations of the head. Our results indicate a better agreement with cadaver results, specifically for the case of frontal and parietal intracranial pressure values. Existing literature focuses mostly on intracranial pressure validation, while the effects of von Mises stress on brain injury are not analyzed in detail. In this work, a detailed interpretation of neurological damage resulting from impact injury is performed by analyzing von Mises stress and intracranial pressure distribution across numerous segments of the brain. A reasonably good correlation with experimental data signifies the robustness of the model for predicting injury mechanisms based on clinical predictions of injury tolerance criteria.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik G. Takhounts ◽  
Stephen A. Ridella ◽  
Vikas Hasija ◽  
Rabih E. Tannous ◽  
J. Quinn Campbell ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Yang ◽  
Kwong-Ming Tse ◽  
Ning Chen ◽  
Long-Bin Tan ◽  
Qing-Qian Zheng ◽  
...  

This study is aimed at developing a high quality, validated finite element (FE) human head model for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) prediction and prevention during vehicle collisions. The geometry of the FE model was based on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of a volunteer close to the anthropometry of a 50th percentile male. The material and structural properties were selected based on a synthesis of current knowledge of the constitutive models for each tissue. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was simulated explicitly as a hydrostatic fluid by using a surface-based fluid modeling method. The model was validated in the loading condition observed in frontal impact vehicle collision. These validations include the intracranial pressure (ICP), brain motion, impact force and intracranial acceleration response, maximum von Mises stress in the brain, and maximum principal stress in the skull. Overall results obtained in the validation indicated improved biofidelity relative to previous FE models, and the change in the maximum von Mises in the brain is mainly caused by the improvement of the CSF simulation. The model may be used for improving the current injury criteria of the brain and anthropometric test devices.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (06) ◽  
pp. 1440002 ◽  
Author(s):  
XINGQIAO DENG ◽  
SHOU AN CHEN ◽  
R. PRABHU ◽  
YUANYUAN JIANG ◽  
Y. MAO ◽  
...  

Mechanical response of the human head under a side car crash impact is crucial for modeling traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or concussions. The current advances in computational methods and the finite element models of the human head provide a significant opportunity for biomechanical study of brain injuries; however, limited experimental data is available for delineating the injury relationship between the head injury criteria (HIC) and the tensile pressure or von Mises stress. In this research, we assess human head injuries in a side impact car crash using finite element (FE) simulations that quantify the tensile pressures and maximum strain profiles. In doing so, five FE analyses for the human head have been carried out to investigate the correlations between the HIC measured in the dummy model at different moving deformable barrier (MDB) velocities increasing from 10 mph to 30 mph in 5 mph increments and the pressure and von Mises stress of the skull, the skin, the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and the brain. The computational simulation results for the tensile pressures and von Mises stresses correlated well with the HIC15 and peak accelerations. Also a second-order polynomial seemed to fit the stress levels to the impact speeds and as such the presented method for using FE human head analysis could be used for reconstruction of head impacts in different side car crash conditions; furthermore, the head model would provide a tool for investigation of the cause and mechanisms of head injuries once the type and locations of injuries are quantified.


2014 ◽  
Vol 934 ◽  
pp. 20-25
Author(s):  
Dan Wang ◽  
Xue Wei Song ◽  
Xiao Yan Sun ◽  
Zhi Jun Du ◽  
Jun Yuan Zhang ◽  
...  

In this paper, a finite element model of human head was established based on CT scanning on a 40-year-old and 50 percentile Chinese male volunteer, and the model was verified with the experiment conducted by Verschueren and skull fracture was investigated during the collision. The frontal of head was impacted with different velocities during the impact tests. A break-deletion element process was represented to simulate the pathological phenomena of skull fracture.The results showed that the simulation results and experimental results were in a good consistency on both mechanics and pathology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Burkacki ◽  
Wojciech Wolański ◽  
Sławomir Suchoń ◽  
Kamil Joszko ◽  
Bożena Gzik-Zroska ◽  
...  

Purpose: The aim of this paper was the development of a finite element model of the soldier’s head to assess injuries suffered by soldiers during blast under a light armoured vehicle. Methods: The application of a multibody wheeled armoured vehicle model, including the crew and their equipment, aenabled the researchers to analyse the most dangerous scenarios of the head injury. These scenarios have been selected for a detailed analysis using the finite element head model which allowed for the examination of dynamic effects on individual head structures. In this paper, the authors described stages of the development of the anatomical finite element head model. Results: The results of the simulations made it possible to assess parameters determining the head injury of the soldier during the IED explosion. The developed model allows the determination of the parameters of stress, strain and pressure acting on the structures of the human head. Conclusion: In future studies, the model will be used to carry out simulations which will improve the construction of the headgear in order to minimize the possibility of the head injury.


Author(s):  
J. C. Roberts ◽  
E. E. Ward ◽  
T. P. Harrigan ◽  
T. M. Taylor ◽  
M. A. Annett ◽  
...  

A finite element model (FEM) of the human head attached to a Hybrid III FEM neck was developed to study the effects of blast loading on the brain. Simulations of blast loading to this Human Head Finite Element Model (HHFEM) were generated by creating a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the HHFEM headform in a shock tube. Three different driver pressure loading conditions from experimental testing of the Human Surrogate Head Model (HSHM) were simulated by this model. The pressure time histories at each grid point of the CFD headform were used as inputs to the HHFEM. Brain/cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and CSF/skull boundary conditions along with different brain material models were considered. The Kelvin-Maxwell material model and a low friction surface-to-surface interface were found to best replicate conditions seen in experimental testing of the HSHM. Deformations in the anterior and posterior locations of the brain varied from 0.5–0.9 mm and intracranial pressures at those locations were between 32 and 55 kPa.


Author(s):  
Giovanni Belingardi ◽  
Giorgio Chiandussi ◽  
Ivan Gaviglio

Head injuries due to traumatic events in case of head impact are one of the main causes of death or permanent invalidity in vehicle crash. The main purpose of the present work is to evaluate pressure and stress distributions in bones and brain tissues of a human head due to an impact by means of numerical simulations. Pressures and stresses in the different zones of the head can be related to the main brain injuries as verified by head traumatology doctors. The availability of a numerical model of head allows to quantify the relationship between type and intensity of the impact and the possible head injury. This capability represents a relevant step torward an effective traumatic injury prevention. The proposed numerical model is quite complex although some simplifications have been introduced like modeling all the inner organs as a continuum without sliding interfaces or fluid elements. Geometrical characteristics for the finite element model have been extracted from CT (Computer Tomography) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Image) scanner images, while material mechanical characteristics have been taken from literature. The model has been validated by comparing the numerical results and the experimental results from literature. The protecting action of the ventricles and of several membranes (dura mater, tentorium and falx) has been evaluated.


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