On two hundred years of Director Generals

Evaluating Primary Blast Effects <em>In Vitro</em>

“…The technique described here uses shock tube equipment ( Figure 2 ) capable of firing shock waves at a range of pressures at whole-body ( i.e., rodent), tissue, or cell samples. The ability to load individual cell types rather than whole tissues gives the ability to parse out distinct cellular responses, as damage can occur concurrently via a range of mechanisms 1 2 . For example, to model traumatic brain injury, the assessment of individual cell types, such as neurons and astrocytes, can allow for the identification of cell-specific injury.…”

“…Injuries obtained through exposure to blast events can be deadly and lethal, with the physical processes of injury being divided into four categories. Primary injuries result from direct exposure to the blast wave, which interacts locally with the body in a compressive and subsequently expansive manner, causing the disruption of membranes and soft tissues 1 . Secondary injuries include blunt trauma or penetrative wounds caused by impact with low-mass objects propelled at high velocity by the blast wave.…”

“…A partial vacuum is left at the region of the initial explosion, which results in the slow backflow of air. The positive and negative phases of the wave ( Figure 1A ) result in the push-pull movement of the blast wave 1 . To help elucidate the mechanisms behind primary blast injuries, experimental models have been created to produce waveforms, such as the Friedlander wave, which cells and tissues will face when exposed to a genuine blast event.…”