Finite Element Analysis of Lung Injury
Despite efforts in safety engineering pulmonary contusion (PC) continues to be a major source of patient morbidity and mortality. The long term goal of this research is to develop predictors of outcome (injury metrics) following pulmonary contusion (PC) using finite element models of the lung. An estimated 2,500,000 injuries resulting from MVC occur each year in the United States. Chest trauma is second only to head trauma in injuries sustained in automobile crashes. Following blunt chest trauma, PC is the most commonly identified injury and affects 10-17% of all trauma admissions. The mortality associated with pulmonary contusion is difficult to predict but is estimated to be 10-25%. The predominant mechanism of PC cases observed in civilian trauma is rapid deceleration owing to motor vehicle crash (MVC) or falls.
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A | B | C |
Figure 1. From CT to model geometry. A. Computed Tomography images are collected. B. Axial images are used to reconstruct the lungs and mediastinal organs. C. A finite element mesh is constructed from the CT reconstruction. |
This project focuses on quantitating loading and the ensuing pulmonary injury within the viscous loading regime using a finite element model. This computational model will serve as the bridge between injury outcome and future countermeasure design. The geometry of the model is developed through the use of Computed Tomography (CT) images.
Modeling efforts will concentrate on the development and validation of an organ-level finite element model to study the high rate (20-80 strain•sec-1) impact biomechanics of the lung. Optimization routines are used to “tune” the model response to match experimental data. Additional computational work falls within the auspices of image analysis, as the task of quantitating pulmonary contusion following controlled insult will also be addressed. Data generated from image analysis techniques (i.e., contusion volume) will are correlated to the internal mechanical deformation of the lung (FE model) which in turn is directly related to the initial insult. Data on clinical standards of assessing PC (P/F ratio) will serve to further correlate the insult to real world injuries.