Do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation?

Subject-specific computer models (male and female) of the human head were used to investigate the possible axonal deformation resulting from the primary phase blast-induced skull flexures. The corresponding axonal tractography was explicitly incorporated into these finite element models using a rece...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Harsha T Garimella, Reuben H Kraft, Andrzej J Przekwas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5856259?pdf=render
_version_ 1818193397745188864
author Harsha T Garimella
Reuben H Kraft
Andrzej J Przekwas
author_facet Harsha T Garimella
Reuben H Kraft
Andrzej J Przekwas
author_sort Harsha T Garimella
collection DOAJ
description Subject-specific computer models (male and female) of the human head were used to investigate the possible axonal deformation resulting from the primary phase blast-induced skull flexures. The corresponding axonal tractography was explicitly incorporated into these finite element models using a recently developed technique based on the embedded finite element method. These models were subjected to extensive verification against experimental studies which examined their pressure and displacement response under a wide range of loading conditions. Once verified, a parametric study was developed to investigate the axonal deformation for a wide range of loading overpressures and directions as well as varying cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) material models. This study focuses on early times during a blast event, just as the shock transverses the skull (< 5 milliseconds). Corresponding boundary conditions were applied to eliminate the rotation effects and the resulting axonal deformation. A total of 138 simulations were developed- 128 simulations for studying the different loading scenarios and 10 simulations for studying the effects of CSF material model variance-leading to a total of 10,702 simulation core hours. Extreme strains and strain rates along each of the fiber tracts in each of these scenarios were documented and presented here. The results suggest that the blast-induced skull flexures result in strain rates as high as 150-378 s-1. These high-strain rates of the axonal fiber tracts, caused by flexural displacement of the skull, could lead to a rate dependent micro-structural axonal damage, as pointed by other researchers.
first_indexed 2024-12-12T00:45:45Z
format Article
id doaj.art-3832f8b05a53439a83510e18309d64f5
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-12T00:45:45Z
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-3832f8b05a53439a83510e18309d64f52022-12-22T00:44:08ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-01133e019088110.1371/journal.pone.0190881Do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation?Harsha T GarimellaReuben H KraftAndrzej J PrzekwasSubject-specific computer models (male and female) of the human head were used to investigate the possible axonal deformation resulting from the primary phase blast-induced skull flexures. The corresponding axonal tractography was explicitly incorporated into these finite element models using a recently developed technique based on the embedded finite element method. These models were subjected to extensive verification against experimental studies which examined their pressure and displacement response under a wide range of loading conditions. Once verified, a parametric study was developed to investigate the axonal deformation for a wide range of loading overpressures and directions as well as varying cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) material models. This study focuses on early times during a blast event, just as the shock transverses the skull (< 5 milliseconds). Corresponding boundary conditions were applied to eliminate the rotation effects and the resulting axonal deformation. A total of 138 simulations were developed- 128 simulations for studying the different loading scenarios and 10 simulations for studying the effects of CSF material model variance-leading to a total of 10,702 simulation core hours. Extreme strains and strain rates along each of the fiber tracts in each of these scenarios were documented and presented here. The results suggest that the blast-induced skull flexures result in strain rates as high as 150-378 s-1. These high-strain rates of the axonal fiber tracts, caused by flexural displacement of the skull, could lead to a rate dependent micro-structural axonal damage, as pointed by other researchers.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5856259?pdf=render
spellingShingle Harsha T Garimella
Reuben H Kraft
Andrzej J Przekwas
Do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation?
PLoS ONE
title Do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation?
title_full Do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation?
title_fullStr Do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation?
title_full_unstemmed Do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation?
title_short Do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation?
title_sort do blast induced skull flexures result in axonal deformation
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5856259?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT harshatgarimella doblastinducedskullflexuresresultinaxonaldeformation
AT reubenhkraft doblastinducedskullflexuresresultinaxonaldeformation
AT andrzejjprzekwas doblastinducedskullflexuresresultinaxonaldeformation