Development of a finite element model of the human neck subjected to high g-level lateral deceleration

Abstract

Described herein is a finite element model of the human head-neck complex that is used to simulate the dynamics of the head and neck subjected to low and high lateral deceleration. The model which is intended to be used as part of an entire human body model consists of a rigid skull, the bony vertebrae modelled by shell elements. intervertebral discs modelled by solid elements and the most relevant muscles and ligaments modelled by membrane and spring-damper elements. Acceleration responses of the head obtained from experimental volunteer sled tests are iused to validate the model for low g-level lateral deceleration. Additionally the corresponding results of the severest cadaber sled test are compared against the predicted response of the model subjected to high g-level acceleration. It is shown that this finite element model fulfils the requirements to be part of a finite element model of the entire human body regarding caliculation time, stability and accuracy of the results.

Finite element simulation of biomechanical response of the human body subjected to lateral impact

“…Another deeper muscle layer built of solid elements is the semispinalis that also runs parallel to the cervical spine and inserts at the back end of the bottom of the skull. These muscles are part of the head-neck complex that has been described in more detail in [9] and is only briefly presented herein. The skeletal part of the head-neck complex consists of the skull and seven cervical vertebrae that are connected by intervertebral discs and supporting ligaments.…”

“…The development of this model and some preliminary results have been presented [8,9]. All relevant parts of the human body have been modelled, including skeletal bones, muscles, ligaments and soft tissue.…”

The Influence of Neck Muscle Activation on Head and Neck Injuries of Occupants in Frontal Impacts

“…Over the past several decades, many neck FE models have been developed. A human head-neck model was developed with the bony vertebrae modeled by shell elements, and the relevant muscles and ligaments were modeled by membranes and spring-damper elements, respectively [ 14 ]. Since solid muscles can affect the stabilization of the body due to compression stiffness and inertial effects, which significantly lessens the need for muscle activation in an impact, three-dimensional solid muscle models with continuous material properties in which the friction among muscles is precisely realized have been adopted.…”

“…Famous full-scale human FE models, such as the THUMS (total human model for safety) [ 17 , 18 ] and the GHBMC (Global Human Body Models Consortium mid-sized male full-body model) [ 19 , 20 ], included both active and passive muscle properties. However, the FE models developed during the early stages were not sufficiently accurate because of structural shortcomings and a lack of muscle activation [ 5 , 6 , 14 , 15 ]. A model developed by Hedenstierna [ 16 ] included no other parts of the human body, and the biofidelity of the transition between C7 and the thorax was not good enough.…”

Head injuries due to unrestrained objects during frontal collisions

“…Some of these models analyse, on the one hand, the acting forces in biomechanical elements like intervertebral discs, ligaments and muscles and, on the other hand, the accelerations of the head with the objective of analysing possible injuries [1,4,5,13,25]. Other researchers have analysed brain injuries in depth through computational brain models [8,11,12,27].…”