Human brain FE modeling including incompressible fluid dynamics of intraventricular cerebrospinal fluid

Elucidating the mechanisms of mild traumatic brain injuries (mild TBIs), including concussions, is important for developing brain injury criteria and designing head protection devices. Using a finite element (FE) model of the human brain to predict the deformation of the brain parenchyma during a head impact could provide mechanical insights on mild TBIs. However, most conventional brain FE models do not consider how fluid behavior and the perfusion pressure of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) will affect brain deformation. This study proposes a novel brain FE model that uses incompressible fluid dynamics (ICFD) to represent the fluid behavior of CSF in the ventricle. In the model with ICFD, the validation accuracy scores on the brain strain during a head impact with a rotational acceleration were significantly higher than those in the model without ICFD. Reconstruction simulations based on two reported mild TBI cases from a rear-end collision and an American football game were conducted using the model with and without ICFD. We found that the maximum principal strain values in the subcortical region and corpus callosum of the model with ICFD were higher and lasted longer than those of the model without ICFD, and this tendency was further enhanced when perfusion pressure was applied. These findings suggested that the fluid behavior and perfusion pressure of the intraventricular CSF could significantly affect the deformation of the brain parenchyma during head impacts. The proposed brain multiphysical FE model could enhance the understanding of mild TBI mechanisms.

Statement of Significance

Mild TBIs or concussions can result from brain deformations caused by the rapid acceleration of the head in the situations such as falls, vehicular accidents, and collisions in sports-related activities. A FE analysis is an effective tool for simulating head impact scenarios associated with mild TBIs and estimating the brain strain. Accurate prediction of mild TBIs requires a brain FE model with high biofidelity. Here, we firstly revealed that the validation accuracy of the model on the brain strain can be improved by considering the fluid behavior of intraventricular CSF. By analyzing existing mild TBI cases using the proposed model, the fluid behavior and perfusion pressure of the CSF were found to significantly affect the brain strain history, resulting in an outcome similar to the clinical symptom. The proposed multiphysical brain model could potentially provide new mechanical insights and further understanding of mild TBIs. Additionally, these findings in this study could be useful in developing brain injury criteria and designing protective equipment.