Citation

Lei T, Xie L, Tu W, Chen Y, Tang Z, Tan Y. Injury 2012; 43(11): 1850-1855.

Affiliation

Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, PR China; Department of Oral, 324th Hospital of PLA, Chongqing 400020, PR China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.injury.2012.07.187

PMID

22889532

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In an attempt to explore new tools for constructing a model of blast injuries to the human mandible, a finite element method was used. This model allowed us to perform dynamic simulations and analyse the injury processes and severity of trauma to the human mandible from an explosion striking at the middle mandibular angle. METHODS: A 3D finite element model of the human mandible was created using digitally visualised CT scanning data of the human mandible. It was used to dynamically simulate the complete injury process of a blast event to a human mandible (at the middle mandibular angle) under the injury conditions of a 600mg TNT explosion. The model was also used to elucidate the subsequent mandibular damage and the dynamic distribution of several biomechanical indices (e.g., stress, and strain). The resulting data were subjected to a comparative analysis. RESULTS: Simulation was successfully conducted for injury events in which 600mg of TNT exploded at 3cm, 5cm and 10cm from the middle mandibular angle of a human mandible; specifically, the simulation included the dynamic injury processes and the distribution of stress and strain in various parts of the damaged mandible. A comparison of the simulation data revealed that different blast distances resulted in considerable variation in the severity and biological indices of the mandibular injury. CONCLUSION: The finite element model was able to dynamically simulate the blast-initiated trauma processes to a human mandible, which allowed for investigation of the severity of damage to the mandible under different injury conditions. This model and the simulation method are conducive for applications in basic studies and clinical investigations of blast-initiated injury mechanisms of bone tissues.

Language: en