Brain Strain Produced by Local Inertial Force Components

Authors: Xianghao Zhan, August Domel, Michael Fanton, Samuel Raymond, Hossein Vahid Alizadeh, Nicholas Cecchi, Michael Zeineh, David Camarillo, Stanford University; Yuzhe Liu, Beihang University, China & Stanford University; Zhou Zhou, Stanford University & KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden; Gerald Grant, Stanford University & Duke University; Svein Kleiven, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Abstract

In traumatic brain injury (TBI), brain strain arises from inertial forces associated with head acceleration. We identified three distinct mechanisms of strain generation: the global rotation effect (shear from whole-brain rotation driven by the Euler force), the global translation effect (compression from whole-brain translation driven by the linear force), and the local force effect (shear within the brain produced by spatial variations of the centrifugal force). To isolate these contributions, we applied independent inertial force fields to a validated finite element human head model using in-vivo American Football head impact kinematics. Simulations showed that brain strain was almost entirely determined by the Euler force, with negligible contributions from linear and centrifugal forces. These results provide direct computational evidence supporting Holbourn’s hypothesis under typical sports-related head impact conditions. 

Type: Short Communication

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