Nonlinear FEA Simulation of Thorax Considering Transient CPR and Lateral Forces

Boxing or martial arts are games where players chests are subject to lateral impact, the impact loads travel through skin, ribs, mediastinum (i.e. a thoracic compartment) and then through the skeleton to the rest of the body. When thorax is subject to lateral force exceeding the elastic limit of thoracic compartment, players often go in shock demanding prompt resuscitation. This paper investigates the thorax response of boxer being subject to lateral impact followed by Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Due to complexity of thorax structure and materials, three dimensional finite element model in ANSYS was created to perform the computational biomechanical analysis of two-stage loading (i.e. lateral impact load and CPR forces). Model input parameters such as material, loading and boundary conditions have been defined. Post processing values such as deformations and stresses have been presented.Copyright © 2012 by ASME