Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.
J Neurotrauma. 2011 Jan;28(1):85-94. doi: 10.1089/neu.2010.1324.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) affect a significant percentage of surviving soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The extent of a blast TBI, especially initially, is difficult to diagnose, as internal injuries are frequently unrecognized and therefore underestimated, yet problems develop over time. Therefore it is paramount to resolve the physical mechanisms by which critical stresses are inflicted on brain tissue from blast wave encounters with the head. This study recorded direct pressure within the brains of male Sprague-Dawley rats during exposure to blast. The goal was to understand pressure wave dynamics through the brain. In addition, we optimized in vivo methods to ensure accurate measurement of intracranial pressure (ICP). Our results demonstrate that proper sealing techniques lead to a significant increase in ICP values, compared to the outside overpressure generated by the blast. Further, the values seem to have a direct relation to a rat's size and age: heavier, older rats had the highest ICP readings. These findings suggest that a global flexure of the skull by the transient shockwave is an important mechanism of pressure transmission inside the brain.
爆炸装置（IED）导致的创伤性脑损伤（TBI）影响了在伊拉克和阿富汗受伤的幸存士兵中的很大一部分。爆炸 TBI 的程度，特别是最初的程度，很难诊断，因为内部损伤经常未被识别，因此被低估了，但随着时间的推移会出现问题。因此，解决关键压力通过头部与爆炸波相遇将对脑组织造成的物理机制至关重要。本研究记录了雄性 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠在暴露于爆炸时大脑内的直接压力。目的是了解通过大脑的压力波动力学。此外，我们优化了体内方法，以确保准确测量颅内压（ICP）。我们的结果表明，与由爆炸产生的外部过压相比，适当的密封技术会导致 ICP 值显着增加。此外，这些值似乎与大鼠的大小和年龄有直接关系：较重、年龄较大的大鼠的 ICP 读数最高。这些发现表明，瞬态冲击波使颅骨整体弯曲是脑内压力传递的重要机制。
