PROQUEST: 1709256486
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern in the United States often resulting in long-term effects on quality of life and premature mortality. Previous experimental studies have identified TBI as an acceleration-based injury, often resulting from direct contact or loading to the head in combination with rotational forces. However, due to the complexity in loading conditions in injurious events, there is still much that is unknown about the mechanistic differences between different types of head injuries and how these injuries may be mitigated. Analysis of real-world data is beneficial in that it creates a research paradigm in which researchers are able to relate information about the biomechanical evidence, including the ‘insult’ or mechanism, to the resulting injury. Focusing research on particular populations, ages, and/or genders allows for the development of population-specific injury metrics and prevention efforts.
This research is comprised of four parts focused on real-world and population-specific approaches to investigating head injury causation.
The methods presented in this thesis highlight the importance of combining medical image analysis and engineering to better understand head injury mechanisms. The findings of this research are beneficial for the engineering design of countermeasures to mitigate or prevent such injuries in the future, and may help guide clinical management of a patient for which information about exposure or mechanical insult are known.