A test set-up for evaluation of effects of dynamic strain on nerve function

Ingemarsson, Ulla-Stina<sup>1</sup>; Lie, Anders<sup>2,3</sup>; Lovsund, Per<sup>1</sup>

Affiliations

¹Department of Injury Prevention, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg

³Department of ENT, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract

A problem in many car collisions is injuries in the neck region caused by whiplash movements of the head. The knowledge of the underlying mechanisms in this type of injury is, however, limited.

The high strain rate loading on the nerve tissue of the neck in the whiplash motion can be a possible cause of these injuries. In vivo effects of dynamic loading on nerve function are not well documented.

A test set-up has been designed for dynamic in vivo testing of rabbit tibia1 nerve. A high strain rate elongation is applied to an exposed part of the nerve. The nerve strain is registered by a video image recording system with a strobe illumination. Effects of the elongation on the nerve function are determined by measurements of the maximal conduction velocity and action potential amplitude. A data acquisition software is used for stimulation and recording of action potentials.

The test set-up shows high repeatability in simulated test situation. The motion analysis system provides measurements with high time resolution (300 Hz) and 0,1 % field of view accuracy (0,1 mm).

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Cited By (2)

Year	Entry
1992	Kullgren A, Lie A, Tingvall C. A photogrammetric system for registration of fast three-dimensional movements in laboratory crash tests. In: Proceedings of the 1992 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 9-11, 1992; Verona, Italy.143-152.
1995	von Koch M, Kullgren A, Lie A, Nygren A, Tingvall C. Soft tissue injury of the cervical spine in rear-end and frontal car collisions. In: Proceedings of the 1995 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 13-15, 1995; Brunnen, Switzerland.273-282.