In this paper, mechano-physiological damage evolution equations are developed to capture the disruption of neuronal membrane integrity and quantify neuronal cell death in the brain during mechanical insult. Traumatic brain injury involves multiscale structure-property relations where the mechanical behavior of the brain is phenomenologically characterized at the macroscale. However, damage largely occurs at the cellular level (microscale and nanoscale) due to the loss of ion homeostasis. To measure this neuronal death mechanism, molecular dynamics simulations were performed on a representative neuronal membrane, a 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) bilayer structures. Pore density and pore growth due to membrane deformation were then quantified. The results showed that the pore growth and pore density rates were a function of stress state, but only the pore growth rate was a function of the strain rate. Mechano-physiological damage evolution equations were developed to capture the damage biomechanics of the POPC bilayer based on the pore density and growth rate responses. The proposed damage evolution equations were combined with the Nernst-Planck diffusion Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) affects a significant portion of athletes in contact sports but is difficult to quantify using clinical examinations and modelling approaches. We use an in silico approach to quantify CTE biomechanics using mesoscale Finite Element (FE) analysis that bridges with macroscale whole head FE analysis. The sulci geometry produces complex stress waves that interact with each another to create increased shear stresses at the sulci depth that are significantly larger than in analyses without sulci (from 0.5 kPa to 18.0 kPa). Also, Peak sulci stresses are located where CTE has been experimentally observed in the literature.
Computational approaches, especially Finite Element Analysis (FEA), have been rapidly growing in both academia and industry during the last few decades. FEA serves as a powerful and efficient approach for simulating real-life experiments, including industrial product development, machine design, and biomedical research, particularly in biomechanics and biomaterials. Accordingly, FEA has been a "go-to" high biofidelic software tool to simulate and quantify the biomechanics of the foot-ankle complex, as well as to predict the risk of foot and ankle injuries, which are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries among physically active individuals. This paper provides a review of the in silico FEA of the foot-ankle complex. First, a brief history of computational modeling methods and Finite Element (FE) simulations for foot-ankle models is introduced. Second, a general approach to build a FE foot and ankle model is presented, including a detailed procedure to accurately construct, calibrate, verify, and validate a FE model in its appropriate simulation environment. Third, current applications, as well as future improvements of the foot and ankle FE models, especially in the biomedical field, are discussed. Lastly, a conclusion is made on the efficiency and development of FEA as a computational approach in investigating the biomechanics of the foot-ankle complex. Overall, this review integrates insightful information for biomedical engineers, medical professionals, and researchers to conduct more accurate research on the foot-ankle FE models in the future.
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