Citation

Richens D, Field M, Hashim S, Neale M, Oakley C. Eur. J. Cardiothorac. Surg. 2004; 25(6): 1039-1047.

Affiliation

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Nottingham City Hospital, Hucknall Road, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK. drichens@ncht.trent.nhs.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ejcts.2004.01.059

PMID

15145007

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Blunt traumatic aortic rupture has a scene survival of 2-5% and is present in 20% of all automobile fatalities. The manner in which the forces from a range of thoracic impacts are transduced through the thoracic cavity to produce consistent injury to the aortic isthmus remains uncertain. Our objective was to create and evaluate a computer based finite element (FE) model of the aorta and observe its behavior during blunt traumatic impacts. METHODS: A finite element model of the thorax including details of the heart, aorta and pertinent thoracic structures was created and run under the FE code LS-DYNA3D. The motion response of the heart following a simulated thoracic impact was extracted from the thorax model and applied in a second more detailed model of the heart and aorta in order to investigate the stresses acting through the aortic isthmus during simulated thoracic impacts. RESULTS: Simulated impact studies show that the predicted peak chest compression of the thorax model matched the measured responses from non-embalmed human cadaver impact studies by Kroell et al., 1974. The more detailed heart-aorta model predicted maximum stresses at the isthmus and pulmonary artery bifurcation the sites of most common trauma injury. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the response of the finite element heart-aorta model during blunt thoracic trauma demonstrates its potential for predicting major vessel injury. The model will be helpful in the design of impact protection systems.

Language: en