Multiscale, physics-based approach for blast and blunt traumatic brain injury prediction and prevent
Abstract
Approved for Public ReleaseA multiscale, physics-based approach to understanding traumatic brain injury is essential for preventing,and mitigating mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and blast-related Traumatic Brain Injury (bTBI) in the armed forces because it is,the only deterministic approach to connect skull motion to brain deformation to cellular injury. Effective brain injury prevention m,ust connect the motion of the rigid skull to the deformation of the soft brain and then determine if the magnitude and rate of defor,mation is injurious at the cellular scale because this is the scale at which injury occurs. A robust cellular injury threshold is th,e basis for effective preventative measures including impact attenuating foams in protective helmets, blast exposure limits and stan,doff distances. This proposal puts forth plans for six specific aims under the mission of PANTHER. Each aim advances scientific unde,rstanding and prevention of TBI.In aim one we will refine the cell-type-specific mild and blast TBI thresholds in two ways. First, w,e will develop a phenotype-dependent cellular TBI risk prediction curve and second, we will determine the cellular electrophysiologi,cal response following blunt and blast impacts, which forms the underlying fabric of understanding and predicting impairment on cogn,itive function within the brain. Expanding upon the foundation of PANTHER s prior cellular injury threshold work, we will improve th,e understanding of how strain and strain rates affect neural cell morphology and signaling.In aim two we will work to quantify the m,echanotransduction of fibrillar collagen as an approximation for fibrous (i.e., cell-based) neural tissue. Through understanding the, complexities of how forces are transferred within deforming fibrous structures, we,d other human tissues used in injury simulations to connect head exposures with deformation-based injury.Aim three proposes work ess,ential to developing a numerical tool that will fully describe the response of foam helmet liners to blunt impacts. Expanding on pre,vious PANTHER work, we will experimentally characterize the mechanical behavior of polyurethane-based foams under a wide range of st,rain amplitudes, strain rates, and operational temperatures and develop a rate- and temperature-dependent viscoelastic constitutive,model using the experimental data for model calibration. The results of this work will be applied to making military helmets more pr,otective in blunt and blast-rate impacts.To measure injurious head exposures in a less intrusive way, in aim five we propose using f,lexible hybrid electronics to make a wearable system that can simultaneously detect impact pressures and subsequent head acceleratio,n.Aims four and six propose models and experiments to further our understanding of cavitation brain injury. Aim four will develop a,test platform with a physical head surrogate and finite element model to look at cavitation resulting from blunt impacts. Aim six wi,ll develop a tool for predicting the likelihood of cavitation brain injury for a given blast pressure-time profile, defining physics,-based safety limits for bTBI for the first time. After it is developed, the tool can be applied to assess the risk of bTBI in milit,ary training exercises and operational environments, providing critical guidance to maintain the safety of military personnel.These,six specific aims will strategically advance TBI prediction and prevention with high potential for rapid commercial translation. PAN,THER s physics-based research will provide a foundation for protection of warfighters and citizens.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 07, 2022
- Source ID
- N000142212828
Entities
People
- Christian Franck
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Wisconsin System