Experimentally validated three-dimensional finite element model of the rat for mild traumatic brain injury. Med Biol Eng Comput 2013 Mar;51(3):353-65
Date
11/30/2012Pubmed ID
23192366DOI
10.1007/s11517-012-1004-7Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84877128642 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 29 CitationsAbstract
The aim of our work was to expand on the knowledge concerning mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), by combining numerical modeling and animal experiments within a joint approach. A three-dimensional finite element model of the rat brain and braincase was developed, and experimental acceleration pulses were applied. Pulse data were obtained from tests conducted using anesthetized rats, subjected to coronal plane rotational acceleration loadings of varying amplitudes and durations, aimed to generate mild TBI. Times of loss of consciousness were obtained. Biomechanical response parameters generally associated with TBI (stresses and strains) in the three anatomical regions, i.e., hypothalamus, thalamus and parietal cortex were analyzed. While the parameters correlated well with changes in injury severity linked to peak rotational acceleration, they were relatively insensitive to the pulse duration or times of loss of consciousness. As a consequence, new stress-time and strain-time metrics were computed, and these metrics were more efficient in predicting changes in injury severity associated both with acceleration characteristics and loss of consciousness outcomes in all three anatomical regions controlling the aforementioned behavior. Results of our analysis tend to show that time-related metrics may be more suited for the explanation of mild TBI than commonly used peak metrics in the three anatomical regions of the brain.
Author List
Lamy M, Baumgartner D, Yoganandan N, Stemper BD, Willinger RAuthors
Brian Stemper PhD Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Medical College of WisconsinNarayan Yoganandan PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsBiomechanical Phenomena
Brain
Brain Injuries
Computer Simulation
Finite Element Analysis
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Male
Models, Neurological
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Reproducibility of Results
X-Ray Microtomography
