Title: A study on the directional sensitivity of intracranial responses following head impact

Authors: Wei Zhao; Shijie Ruan; Haiyan Li; Shihai Cui; Lijuan He

Addresses: Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China ' Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China ' Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China ' Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China ' Center for Injury Biomechanics and Vehicle Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 30022, China

Abstract: The objective of the present study was to investigate the directional sensitivity of intracranial responses following head impact using a validated mid-sized finite element model of Chinese human head. An impact force was applied to different locations of the model with deformable skull and rigid skull, respectively, under the same boundary conditions. Then a translational acceleration was applied to the rigid skull by keeping the same head position resulting in the same head injury criteria (HIC) as in the cases with impact force. The results showed that directional effect of head impact altered intracranial responses and injury patterns. Brain tissue at impact site was at high risk of contusion during vertical impact and corpus callosum was vulnerable to the impact at forehead when the head was impacted in a 45 degree angle. It was also found that this sensitivity contributed more by a rigid skull than a deformable one.

Keywords: head impact; finite element method; FEM; modelling; directional effect; intracranial responses; head injury criterion; HIC; impact force; injury patterns; brain tissue; corpus callosum; road traffic accidents; vehicle accidents; vehicle safety.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2014.060166

International Journal of Vehicle Safety, 2014 Vol.7 No.2, pp.199 - 208

Published online: 30 Oct 2014 *

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