Reconstruction of a sport accident using detailed Finite Element (FE) model of the human head and explicit dynamics numerical simulation is presented in the paper. The sport accident involved a 13-year old boy on whom a handball cage fell during the school sport activity. FE model of the human head was developed using series of computer tomography (CT) scans. The FE model includes the skull, brain and subarachnoidal space. Rigid body model was used to assess initial conditions at the moment of the impact. The detailed FE model was imposed to the initial conditions obtained just before the head impacted the playground and differential equations of motion with explicit dynamics solver LS-DYNA (Livermore Software Dynamic Analysis) was used to determine the impact sequence. The pressure, shear stress response, von-Mises stress response and logarithmic strain values were evaluated in frontal, parietal, occipital and midbrain region. Head injury criteria were used to evaluate the injuries sustained. Results obtained from the numerical simulation of the accident showed good agreement with clinically observed head injuries and indicate the good ability of the FE model to simulate the impact situations and to investigate the brain injury mechanisms.

Clinic of Paediatric Surgery Orthopedics and Traumatology Brno Faculty Hospital Brno

Lit.: 11