Abstract
This study is aimed at investigating the influence of skull fractures on traumatic brain injury induced by blunt impact via numerous studies of head–ground impacts. First, finite element (FE) damage modeling was implemented in the skull of the Total HUman Model for Safety (THUMS), and the skull fracture prediction performance was validated against a head–ground impact experiment. Then, the original head model of the THUMS was assigned as the control model without skull element damage modeling. Eighteen (18) head–ground impact models were established using these two FE head models, with three head impact locations (frontal, parietal, and occipital regions) and three impact velocities (25, 35, and 45 km/h). The predicted maximum principal strain and cumulative strain damage measure of the brain tissue were employed to evaluate the effect of skull fracture on the cerebral contusion and diffuse brain injury risks, respectively. Simulation results showed that the skull fracture could reduce the risk of diffuse brain injury risk under medium and high velocities significantly, while it could increase the risk of brain contusion under high-impact velocity.
Highlights
IntroductionIn China, approximately 200,000 Road traffic collisions (RTCs) occur annually, which leads to more than 200,000 injuries every year [2]
Road traffic collisions (RTCs) have become one of the most severe worldwide public health problems, and approximately 5 million people are injured and 1.2 million die from RTCs every year [1].In China, approximately 200,000 RTCs occur annually, which leads to more than 200,000 injuries every year [2]
The patterns of skull fracture depending on the initial head impact location, which can be divided into three main groups: anterior, lateral, and posterior, that is, frontal, lateral–parietal, and occipital, respectively [8,9,10]
Summary
In China, approximately 200,000 RTCs occur annually, which leads to more than 200,000 injuries every year [2]. One of the main causes of the casualty in RTCs is severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by head blunt impacts [3,4,5]. Blunt-impact head injuries of RTCs mainly include skull fracture and TBI [6,7]. The patterns of skull fracture depending on the initial head impact location (or direction), which can be divided into three main groups: anterior, lateral, and posterior, that is, frontal, lateral–parietal, and occipital, respectively [8,9,10]. According to the distribution of injury, TBIs can be divided into focal brain injuries and diffuse brain injuries (DBIs) [11,12,13]. DBIs include mild concussion, moderate concussion with brief coma, and diffuse axonal injury with long-term coma or death [12,13]
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