Use of agar/glycerol and agar/glycerol/water as a translucent brain simulant for ballistic testing

Falland-Cheung, Lisa; Waddell, John Neil; Lazarjan, Milad Soltanipour; Jermy, Mark; Winter, Taylor; Tong, D. M.; Brunton, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2016.09.034

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Recent work by Falland-Cheung et al [ 7 ] reviewed the properties of a selection of simulants and investigated mixtures of agar/glycerol and agar/glycerol/water (impacted with a 0.22-calibre air rifle pellet) compared with deer brain. Agar/glycerol/water specimens conditioned to 22 °C behaved in a similar fashion to the deer brain both under impact and in post impact damage patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of helmet materials and simulated bone and tissue layers on bullet behaviour in a gelatine model of overmatch penetrating head injury

et al. 2017

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The aim of this work was to simulate an overmatch ballistic event against a head wearing a helmet. The experiments were designed to understand how layers of bone (or synthetic bone), synthetic skin and currently used helmet materials influence the behaviour of full metal jacket mild steel core (FMJ MSC) 7.62 × 39 mm bullets, impacting on targets with a mean velocity of 650 m/s. Bullet behaviour within 10% (by mass) gelatine blocks was assessed by measurements made of the temporary cavity within the blocks using high-speed video and of the permanent cavity by dissecting blocks post firing. While ANOVA did not find significant difference at the 0.05 level in the mean values of most of the measurements, there was a significant difference in neck length within the gelatine blocks. The addition of material layers did produce greater variability in the temporary cavity measurements under some of the conditions. One of the synthetic bone polymers with a synthetic skin layer produced similar results within the gelatine blocks to the horse scapulae (with residual tissue) and may be suitable for future ballistic experiments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of helmet materials and simulated bone and tissue layers on bullet behaviour in a gelatine model of overmatch penetrating head injury

et al. 2017

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“…The top half of the skull simulant was lined with 3 mm plasticine (mimicking subarachnoid space for CSF) and filled with duplication silicone, which was then used to make a mould to create the brain simulant ( Figure 3). The mould was lined with a thin plastic bag, mimicking the dura mater, electronic sensors (see 'Electronic data capture system and testing set-up' section) positioned at the base, centre and top of the mould, and an agar/ glycerol/water mixture 11 with a ratio of 40:50:10% (by volume), poured in to create the brain.…”

Section: Human Brain Simulantmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The limitations of the previous studies included the shortage of validating the mechanical properties of materials used in the studies, the use of a nonanatomical model and use of simulant materials that are not suitable, such as 10% gelatine, which the authors of this study found to be not brain like. 10,11 The purpose of this study was to first develop a more anatomical skin-skull-brain model in a realistic manner for the purposes of impact head injury research. Second, to measure the impact force and displacement (observation of trends) through the various layers of the head by incorporating an array of accelerometers in between the layers and subjecting the head model to impacts using a drop tube system which has not been previously reported in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anatomical head model to measure impact force transfer through the head layers and their displacement

Falland-Cheung

Waddell

et al. 2018

Journal of Concussion

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When the human head is subjected to blunt force impact, there are several mechanical responses that may result from the forces involved, including absorption of impact forces through the various layers of the head. The purpose of this study was to develop an anatomical head model to measure force transfer through the various head layers and their displacement when subject to short-duration high-velocity impacts. An anatomical head model was constructed using previously validated simulant materials: epoxy resin (skull), polyvinyl siloxane (scalp), agar/glycerol/water (brain) and modified intravenous fluid for the cerebrospinal fluid. An array of accelerometers (4 mm Â 4 mm Â 1.45 mm) was incorporated into the various layers of the head to measure forces in x-(anterior/posterior), y-(left/right) and z-(up/down) axis. All sensors were connected to a signal conditioning board and USB powered data loggers. The head model was placed into a rigid metal stand with an optical sensor to trigger data capturing. A weight (750 g) was dropped from a height of 0.5 m (n¼ 20). Impact forces (z-axis) of 1107.05 N were recorded on top of the skin, with decreasing values through the different layers (bottom of skin 78.48 N, top of skull 319.82 N, bottom of skull 87.30 N, top and centre of brain 47.09 N and base of brain 78.41 N. Forces in the x-and y-axes were similar to those of the z-axis. With the base of the brain still receiving 78.41 N, this highlights the potential danger of repetitive impact forces to the head. Upon impact the layers of the head are displaced in the x-, y-and z-direction, with the highest values shown in the z-axis. In conclusion, this study identified the importance of considering short-duration high-intensity impacts to the head and their effect on underlying tissues.

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“…The transient dynamic response of biological materials during rapid mechanical loading 1 – 3 is becoming increasingly important due to emerging medical implications, i.e., injury mechanisms under blast, ballistic, or impact exposures 4 – 6 . When exposed to these threats, a biological system, e.g., human brain or skin, is rapidly accelerated, which results in the acceleration-induced pressure gradient.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceleration-induced pressure gradients and cavitation in soft biomaterials

Kang

Raphael

2018

Sci Rep

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The transient, dynamic response of soft materials to mechanical impact has become increasingly relevant due to the emergence of numerous biomedical applications, e.g., accurate assessment of blunt injuries to the human body. Despite these important implications, acceleration-induced pressure gradients in soft materials during impact and the corresponding material response, from small deformations to sudden bubble bursts, are not fully understood. Both through experiments and theoretical analyses, we empirically show, using collagen and agarose model systems, that the local pressure in a soft sample is proportional to the square of the sample depth in the impact direction. The critical acceleration that corresponds to bubble bursts increases with increasing gel stiffness. Bubble bursts are also highly sensitive to the initial bubble size, e.g., bubble bursts can occur only when the initial bubble diameter is smaller than a critical size (≈10 μm). Our study gives fundamental insight into the physics of injury mechanisms, from blunt trauma to cavitation-induced brain injury.

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Use of agar/glycerol and agar/glycerol/water as a translucent brain simulant for ballistic testing

Cited by 15 publications

References 17 publications

The effect of helmet materials and simulated bone and tissue layers on bullet behaviour in a gelatine model of overmatch penetrating head injury

The effect of helmet materials and simulated bone and tissue layers on bullet behaviour in a gelatine model of overmatch penetrating head injury

Anatomical head model to measure impact force transfer through the head layers and their displacement

Acceleration-induced pressure gradients and cavitation in soft biomaterials

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