A QCT-Based Nonsegmentation Finite Element Head Model for Studying Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

In the existing finite element head models (FEHMs) that are constructed from medical images, head tissues are usually segmented into a number of components according to the interior anatomical structure of the head. Each component is represented by a homogenous material model. There are a number of disadvantages in the segmentation-based finite element head models. Therefore, we developed a nonsegmentation finite element head model with pointwise-heterogeneous material properties and corroborated it by available experiment data. From the obtained results, it was found that although intracranial pressures predicted by the existing (piecewise-homogeneous) and the proposed (pointwise-heterogeneous) FEHM are very similar to each other, strain/stress levels in the head tissues are very different. The maximum peak strains/stresses predicted by the proposed FEHM are much higher than those by the existing FEHM, indicating that piecewise-homogeneous FEHM may have underestimated the stress/strain level induced by impact and thus may be inaccurate in predicting traumatic brain injuries.