Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
Ann Biomed Eng. 2011 Oct;39(10):2550-9. doi: 10.1007/s10439-011-0343-0. Epub 2011 Jul 7.
The manner in which energy from an explosion is transmitted into the brain is currently a highly debated topic within the blast injury community. This study was conducted to investigate the injury biomechanics causing blast-related neurotrauma in the rat. Biomechanical responses of the rat head under shock wave loading were measured using strain gauges on the skull surface and a fiber optic pressure sensor placed within the cortex. MicroCT imaging techniques were applied to quantify skull bone thickness. The strain gauge results indicated that the response of the rat skull is dependent on the intensity of the incident shock wave; greater intensity shock waves cause greater deflections of the skull. The intracranial pressure (ICP) sensors indicated that the peak pressure developed within the brain was greater than the peak side-on external pressure and correlated with surface strain. The bone plates between the lambda, bregma, and midline sutures are probable regions for the greatest flexure to occur. The data provides evidence that skull flexure is a likely candidate for the development of ICP gradients within the rat brain. This dependency of transmitted stress on particular skull dynamics for a given species should be considered by those investigating blast-related neurotrauma using animal models.
爆炸能量传入大脑的方式目前是爆炸伤研究领域中一个备受争议的话题。本研究旨在探讨导致大鼠爆震性颅脑损伤的创伤生物力学机制。通过在颅骨表面使用应变计和在皮质内放置光纤压力传感器，测量大鼠头部在冲击波加载下的生物力学响应。应用微 CT 成像技术来量化颅骨骨厚度。应变计结果表明，大鼠颅骨的响应取决于入射冲击波的强度；强度更大的冲击波会导致颅骨更大的挠度。颅内压 (ICP) 传感器表明，大脑内产生的峰值压力大于侧向外部压力峰值，并与表面应变相关。在 lambda 骨、额骨和中线缝合线之间的骨板可能是发生最大弯曲的区域。这些数据表明，颅骨弯曲很可能是大鼠大脑内 ICP 梯度形成的原因。对于使用动物模型研究爆震性颅脑损伤的人员来说，应该考虑特定物种颅骨动力学对传递应力的这种依赖性。
