Is head injury caused by linear or angular acceleration

Currently, angular acceleration is believed to be more damaging to the brain than linear acceleration, even though both are present in any head impact. In a recent experiment, it was found that a helmeted head sustained the same degree of angular acceleration as the unhelmeted head for the same impact, but its linear acceleration was decreased significantly. So, if angular acceleration is the cause of brain injury, then how is the brain protected by the helmet? This paper proposes a new hypothesis of brain injury and suggests that input acceleration limits should be replaced by response variables.

[1]  A. Holbourn.  MECHANICS OF HEAD INJURIES , 1943 .

[2]  R. Pudenz,et al.  The Lucite Calvarium—A Method for Direct Observation of the Brain: II. Cranial Trauma and Brain Movement , 1946 .

[3]  H. R. Lissner,et al.  Observations on the mechanism of brain concussion, contusion, and laceration. , 1955, Surgery, gynecology & obstetrics.

[4]  Gross Ag.  Impact thresholds of brain concussion. , 1958 .

[5]  Impact thresholds of brain concussion. , 1958, The Journal of aviation medicine.

[6]  L. M. Patrick,et al.  Intracranial pressure and acceleration accompanying head impacts in human cadavers. , 1961, Surgery, gynecology & obstetrics.

[7]  S. Strich,et al.  SHEARING OF NERVE FIBRES AS A CAUSE OF BRAIN DAMAGE DUE TO HEAD INJURY: A Pathological Study of Twenty Cases , 1961 .

[8]  L. M. Patrick,et al.  Concussion: mechanism and pathology , 1963 .

[9]  E. S. Gurdjian,et al.  Experimental skull deformation and brain displacement demonstrated by flash x-ray technique. , 1966, Journal of neurosurgery.

[10]  A. Ommaya,et al.  The role of whiplash in cerebral concussion , 1966 .

[11]  E. S. Gurdjian,et al.  Advances in Understanding of Experimental Concussion Mechanisms , 1969 .

[12]  A E Hirsch,et al.  Tolerances for cerebral concussion from head impact and whiplash in primates. , 1971, Journal of biomechanics.

[13]  F J Unterharnscheidt,et al.  Translational versus rotational acceleration: animal experiments with measured input. , 1971, Scandinavian journal of rehabilitation medicine.

[14]  Thomas A. Gennarelli,et al.  Pathophysiologic Responses to Rotational and Translational Accelerations of the Head , 1972 .

[15]  A. Ommaya,et al.  Cerebral concussion and traumatic unconsciousness. Correlation of experimental and clinical observations of blunt head injuries. , 1974, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[16]  P Löwenhielm.  Mathematical simulation of gliding contusions. , 1975, Journal of biomechanics.

[17]  Peter Löwenhielm,et al.  Mathematical simulation of gliding contusions. , 1975, Journal of biomechanics.

[18]  Koshiro Ono,et al.  Human Head Tolerance to Sagittal Impact Reliable Estimation Deduced from Experimental Head Injury Using Subhuman Primates and Human Cadaver Skulls , 1980 .

[19]  T A Gennarelli,et al.  Acceleration induced head injury in the monkey.I. The model, its mechanical and physiological correlates. , 1981, Acta neuropathologica. Supplementum.

[20]  L. Thibault,et al.  Biomechanics of acute subdural hematoma. , 1982, The Journal of trauma.

[21]  J. Adams,et al.  Diffuse axonal injury and traumatic coma in the primate , 1982, Annals of neurology.

[22]  Guy S. Nusholtz,et al.  Head impact response-skull deformation and angular accelerations , 1984 .

[23]  Thomas A. Gennarelli,et al.  Biomechanics of diffuse brain injuries , 1985 .

[24]  Gerry Leisman,et al.  Biomechanics of head injury. , 1990, The International journal of neuroscience.

[25]  B. A. Buchele.  The Injury Fact Book , 1992, Annals of Internal Medicine.

[26]  S. Margulies,et al.  A proposed tolerance criterion for diffuse axonal injury in man. , 1992, Journal of biomechanics.

[27]  S. Makintubee.  Injury control and prevention. , 1993, The Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association.

[28]  L. Thibault,et al.  Mechanical and electrical responses of the squid giant axon to simple elongation. , 1993, Journal of biomechanical engineering.

[29]  A J McLean,et al.  Brain injury without head impact? , 1995, Journal of neurotrauma.

[30]  R. Willinger,et al.  Modal and temporal analysis of head mathematical models. , 1995, Journal of neurotrauma.

[31]  M C LaPlaca,et al.  An in vitro model of traumatic neuronal injury: loading rate-dependent changes in acute cytosolic calcium and lactate dehydrogenase release. , 1997, Journal of neurotrauma.

[32]  F O Mueller,et al.  Fatalities from head and cervical spine injuries occurring in tackle football: 50 years' experience. , 1998, Clinics in sports medicine.

[33]  Marc C. Beusenberg,et al.  A NEW BIOMECHANICAL ASSESSMENT OF MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. PART I: METHODOLOGY , 1999 .

[34]  D. Viano,et al.  Biomechanics of brain and spinal-cord injury: analysis of neuropathologic and neurophysiology experiments , 1999 .

[35]  J. A. Newman,et al.  A new biomechanical assessment of mild traumatic brain injury. Part 2: Results and conclusions , 2000 .

[36]  L Zhang,et al.  Recent advances in brain injury research: a new human head model development and validation. , 2001, Stapp car crash journal.

[37]  King H. Yang,et al.  Biomechanics of neurotrauma , 2001, Neurological research.

[38]  King H. Yang,et al.  Investigation of Head Injury Mechanisms Using Neutral Density Technology and High-Speed Biplanar X-ray. , 2001, Stapp car crash journal.

[39]  Liying Zhang,et al.  Effectiveness of the football helmet assessed by finite element modeling and impact testing , 2003 .

[40]  David C. Viano,et al.  A new biomechanical predictor for mild traumatic brain injury: a preliminary finding , 2003 .