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Cerebral blood vessels are an integral part of the brain and may play a role in the response of the brain to impact. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of surrogate vessels on the deformation patterns of a physical model of the brain under various impact conditions. Silicone gel and tubing were used as surrogates for brain tissue and blood vessels, respectively. Two aluminum cylinders representing a coronal section of the brain were constructed. One cylinder was filled with silicone gel only, and the other was filled with silicone gel and silicone tubing arranged in the radial direction in the peripheral region. An array of markers was embedded in the gel in both cylinders to facilitate strain calculation via high-speed video analysis. Both cylinders were simultaneously subjected to a combination of linear and angular acceleration using a two-segment pendulum.

Although not life threatening in most cases, victims of lower extremity injuries frequently end up living with a poor quality of life. The implementations of airbag supplement restraint systems significantly reduce the incidence of head and chest injuries. However, the frequency of leg injuries remains high. Several finite element models of the foot and ankle have been developed to further the understanding of this injury mechanism. None of those models employed accurate geometry among various bony segments. The objective of this study is to develop a foot and ankle finite element model based on CT scan data so that joint geometry can be accurately represented. The model was validated against experimental data for several different configurations including typical car crash situations.