Dickey Grant J, Bian Kewei, Liu Xingyu, Khan Habib R, Mao Haojie
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
J Biomech Eng. 2022 May 1;144(5). doi: 10.1115/1.4052886.
Commotio cordis is the second leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Currently available chest protectors on the market are ineffective in preventing cases of commotio cordis in young athletes who play baseball. This study focused on using contour maps to identify specific baseball impact locations to the chest that may result in instances of commotio cordis to children during baseball games. By identifying these vulnerable locations, we may design and develop chest protectors that can provide maximum protection to prevent commotio cordis in young athletes. Simulation cases were run using the validated CHARM-10 chest model, a detailed finite element model representing an average 10-year-old child's chest. A baseball model was developed in company with the chest model, and then used to impact the chest at different locations. A 7 × 8 impact location matrix was designed with 56 unique baseball impact simulations. Left ventricle strain and pressure, reaction force between the baseball and chest, and rib deformations were analyzed. Left ventricle strain was highest from baseball impacts directly over the left ventricle (0.34) as well as impacts slightly lateral and superior to the cardiac silhouette (0.34). Left ventricle pressure was highest with impacts directly over the left ventricle (82.94 kPa). We have identified the most dangerous impact locations resulting in high left ventricle strain and pressure. This novel study provided evidence of where to emphasize protective materials for establishing effective chest protectors that will minimize instances of commotio cordis in young athletes.
心脏震荡是年轻运动员心源性猝死的第二大主要原因。目前市场上现有的胸部护具对于预防从事棒球运动的年轻运动员发生心脏震荡无效。本研究聚焦于使用等高线图来识别棒球对胸部的特定撞击位置，这些位置可能导致儿童在棒球比赛期间发生心脏震荡。通过识别这些易受影响的位置，我们可以设计和开发能够提供最大保护的胸部护具，以预防年轻运动员发生心脏震荡。使用经过验证的CHARM - 10胸部模型运行模拟案例，该模型是一个代表平均10岁儿童胸部的详细有限元模型。与胸部模型一起开发了一个棒球模型，然后用于在不同位置撞击胸部。设计了一个7×8的撞击位置矩阵，进行56次独特的棒球撞击模拟。分析了左心室应变和压力、棒球与胸部之间的反作用力以及肋骨变形情况。棒球直接撞击左心室上方时左心室应变最高（0.34），以及撞击心脏轮廓略外侧和上方时左心室应变也最高（0.34）。棒球直接撞击左心室时左心室压力最高（82.94kPa）。我们已经确定了导致左心室高应变和高压力的最危险撞击位置。这项新颖的研究为确定有效胸部护具的保护材料应着重的位置提供了证据，这些护具将使年轻运动员心脏震荡的发生率降至最低。
