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Abstract
The objective of this research is to reconstruct and analyse real world cases of accidental head injury, thereby providing accurate data which is used to investigate clinical tolerance levels associated with particular traumatic injuries and brain lesions. Falls were selected as the accidents of interest in this study. Real life accidents cases are selected in conjunction with the National Department of Neurosurgery at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Reconstruction of the accident cases is carried out using MADYMO multibody dynamics software. This gives results in terms of velocities, accelerations and forces experienced by the head in an impact event. The output from the MADYMO simulations, in the form of velocities, is applied to a three-dimensional finite element model of the head. The model used in this study is a modified version of the University College Dublin Brain Trauma Model (UCDBTM). Detailed analysis of the results from both the multibody dynamics simulations and the finite element simulations is carried out in order to investigate injury criteria and tolerance levels for brain injury. The finite element analysis looks at the results in the injury locations as well as throughout the whole model, and assesses which output parameters are linked to the injury. The differences in the results between injured and uninjured regions were analysed and injury risk curves were generated. It was found that negative pressure relates well to the occurrence of contusion, with a value of 155 kPa giving a 50% probability of an element being in the injury region for contusion. A number of parameters were found to relate well with the occurrence of subdural haematoma, with a 50% probability of an element being in the injury region if the maximum strain rate observed in the element exceeds 115 s-1.
