Simulation of Mouse Brain Tissue Under Controlled Cortical Impact

Traumatic brain injury is one of the leading causes of injury and death in both developed and developing countries. Animal models are important preclinical tools for injury level studies. In this study, a finite element (FE) model of mouse brain was constructed to investigate the biomechanical responses of brain tissue during a controlled cortical impact (CCI). Impact of the brain tissue was simulated with varying impact speeds and angles. Computational results indicated that the viscoelastic properties of the brain tissue and the impact angle could greatly influence the injury responses. Comparison with the experimental observation showed that energy based stress parameters such as the von Mises stress has the potential to be descriptive of the injury levels.