ARL-TR-8489 - Morphological and Mechanical Characterization of Adolescent Yucatan Miniature Porcine Skull | U.S. Army Research Laboratory

摘要

Traumatic brain injury is the signature injury endured during the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan resulting from blast and blunt/ballistic impact. Computational simulation based on realistic material models can be utilized to better understand the biomechanics of traumatic brain injury. To develop accurate material models, the material response of biological constituents, such as tissue and bone, must be understood. In addition, an in-depth evaluation of the micro-structural components of the skull and their response to mechanical loading may aid in understanding the mechanisms of injury. The current study examines the mechanical response and structural properties of the Yucatan minipig cranial bone (skull) to help develop material models inspired by its structure. This species is useful to study traumatic head injury because its gyroencephalic brain (hemispheres with convolutions) is more similar to the human brain than small animal models (i.e., rodents). However, this animal skull is uniform, which differentiates it from the human three-layer sandwich skull structure.