Investigating brain injury tolerance in the sagittal plane using a finite element model of the human head

Abstract

Despite decades of research and regulation, brain injuries remain a leading cause of traffic related death and disability worldwide. In this study, the human tolerance to brain injury was investigated by applying pure angular and linear kinematic loading conditions in the sagittal plane to a finite element model of the head. The relationship between peak acceleration and impact duration was determined at several levels of constant injury risk for two strain-based injury criteria. Results revealed that brain injury tolerance depends on peak acceleration and impact duration, which were found to be inversely related for constant injury risk.