This article first describes modelling and analysis of head impacts with rigid upper interior structures of the passenger compartment of an automobile and compares results with laboratory test measurements. Such models can demonstrate the capacity of a well-defined model to accurately replicate dynamic response and can predict levels of injury mitigation obtainable from structural modifications, such as padding. Such models can also estimate physical quantities (e.g., detailed stress/strain patterns) known to affect the functional capacity of brain tissue. To provide estimates of such quantities, a first-generation anatomic brain model was developed to estimate strains induced in the brain as a result of typical head impacts sustained in automotive collisions. The brain model is viewed as the first step in a complicated process, leading toward the ability to assess soft-tissue injuries, and to the development of an expanded head-injury criterion that addresses specific forms of brain injuries known to result from automobile crashes. (A)
Abstract