Organ-to-Cell Multiscale Modeling of Concussion

This work will generate new scientific knowledge about how concussion occurs in the brain. Concussion is caused by impact to the head that deforms the brain. Computational models of head injury are used to study how and where the brain deforms, and how the deformation leads to concussion.

Many injury models exist to study deformation of the whole brain, or the deformation of an individual axon (nerve fiber). However, these models have not been unified to study how whole brain deformation translates down to the axonal level. This award supports research to unify brain injury models at the large, medium, and small scales.

The unified models will then be used to study brain deformations at all scales caused by real-world head impact. This process will enable a comprehensive understanding of how a head impact causes injury. In the future, the results of this work may help correlate head impact with concussion symptoms and neuroimaging findings.

The comprehensive understanding of how concussion occurs within the brain can be used to design better head protective gear, improve diagnosis of concussion, and support more precise treatment plans. Therefore, results from this award will benefit the U.S. society and eventually improve human health. Finally, this research will help broaden participation of underrepresented groups in research and positively impact engineering education.

Concussion occurs across the length scales of the brain. Current brain injury models focus on either the whole brain or an individual axon. However, little is known about how impact-induced brain deformation is transmitted through the length scales in specific regions of the brain.

This research will fill the knowledge gap on the energy transmission process of external head impact at the macro, meso, and microscales. It will develop detailed injury models in key vulnerable brain regions. A microscale injury model will also be developed capable of adapting to local geometry.

These organ-to-cell models will then be unified through a multiscale modeling framework to provide a comprehensive understanding of the biomechanical mechanism of concussion across the length scales.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.