Citation

Kuo C, Wu LC, Ye PP, Laksari K, Camarillo DB, Kuhl E. J. Neurotrauma 2017; 34(22): 3198-3205.

Affiliation

Stanford, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford, California, United States ; ekuhl@stanford.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2016.4893

PMID

28683585

Abstract

With 300 million riders annually, roller coasters are a popular recreational activity. Although the number of roller coaster injuries is relatively low, the precise effect of roller coaster rides on our brain remains unknown. Here we present the quantitative characterization of brain displacements and deformations during roller coaster rides. For two healthy adult male subjects, we recorded head accelerations during three representative rides, and, for comparison, during running and soccer headers. From the recordings, we simulated brain displacements and deformations using rigid body dynamics and finite element analyses. Our findings show that despite having lower linear accelerations than sports head impacts, roller coasters may lead to brain displacements and strains comparable to mild soccer headers. The peak change in angular velocity on the rides was 9.9rad/s, which was higher than the 5.6rad/s in soccer headers with ball velocities reaching 7m/s. Maximum brain surface displacements of 4.0mm and maximum principal strains of 7.6% were higher than in running and similar to soccer headers, but below the reported average concussion strain. Brain strain rates during roller coasters were similar as those in running, and lower than those in soccer header. Strikingly, on the same ride and at a similar position, the two subjects experienced significantly different head kinematics and brain deformation. These results indicate head motion and brain deformation during roller coaster rides are highly sensitive to individual subjects. While our study suggests that roller coaster rides do not present an immediate risk of acute brain injury, their long-term effects require further longitudinal study.

Language: en

Keywords

ASSESSMENT TOOLS; FINITE ELEMENT MODELS; IN VIVO STUDIES; MODELS OF INJURY; TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY