Computer Modeling/Etiological Study of Acute Injury Risk

脊柱和其他肢体的急性损伤构成了美国主要的健康风险，也是总医疗费用的主要部分。因此，降低这些损伤的严重程度和费用非常重要。为了解决这些问题，我们建议通过发展先进的计算机建模和基于风险评估的病因学方法来研究损伤生物力学。 第一个研究领域将开发脊柱融合的计算模型，以确定融合块位置、融合块大小、融合骨密度和椎体内骨小梁密度对腰椎椎间融合术承载能力的相对重要性。从长远来看，这些模拟可以发展成为评估椎间融合术的诊断辅助工具，使临床医生能够定量评估手术的成功率，并设定身体活动的限制，以防止脊柱的再损伤，特别是对于那些生活方式活跃的人。 研究的第二个领域将开发一种损伤特异性造影剂，其X射线衰减比骨骼更大，用于微损伤的微计算机断层扫描（micro-CT）。微损伤的作用，在非破坏性骨折是没有得到很好的理解，部分原因是由于我们有限的能力，测量微损伤的非破坏性。非破坏性技术将能够测量相对于机械载荷、骨矿物质密度、骨结构、全骨几何形状或骨折部位的局部变化的微损伤累积的空间密度。因此，基本的科学认识的微观损伤积累的机制，以及随之而来的影响断裂敏感性，将显着推进。更重要的是，非破坏性的发展 检测骨骼微损伤的技术最终可能转化为骨折易感性的新的体内和临床诊断技术，从而降低老年人受伤的可能性。 研究的第三个领域提出了开发一种非线性混合细胞自动机（HCA）的方法来设计汽车结构拓扑结构的能量吸收能力。两个应用领域将进行调查：1。膝盖垫配置的设计，以实现最大效率;以及2.设计了一个运动型多用途前保险杠系统的行人安全。

Acute injuries to the spine and other extremities constitute both a major health risk as well as a major portion of the total health care costs in the U.S. Reducing the severity and costs of these injuries is therefore important. To address these issues, we propose to study injury biomechanics through development of advanced computer modeling and risk assessment-based etiological methods. The first area of study will develop computational models of spinal fusion in order to determine the relative importance of fusion mass location, fusion mass size, bone density of the fusion, and trabecular bone density within the vertebral body on the load carrying capacity of a lumbar interbody fusion. In the long term, these simulations can be developed into a diagnostic aid for evaluation of interbody fusions, allowing clinicians to quantitatively assess the success of the procedure and to set limits on physical activity in order to prevent re-injury of the spine, particularly for those individuals having active lifestyles. The second area of study will develop a damage-specific contrast agent, with greater x-ray attenuation than bone, for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) of microdamage. The role of microdamage in osteoporotic fractures is not well understood, in part due to our limited capabilities for measuring microdamage non-destructive. Non-destructive techniques would enable measurement of the spatial density of microdamage accumulation with respect to local variations in mechanical loading, bone mineral density, bone architecture, whole bone geometry, or fracture sites. Consequently, basic scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying microdamage accumulation, and the concomitant effects on fracture susceptibility, would be significantly advanced. More importantly, the development of non-destructive techniques for detecting microdamage in bone could eventually translate into new in vivo and clinical diagnostic techniques for fracture susceptibility, thus reducing the potential for injury in the elderly. The third area of study proposes developing a nonlinear hybrid cellular automata (HCA) approach for designing automotive structural topologies that are tailored for energy absorbing capability. Two application areas will be investigated: 1. The design of a knee bolster configuration for maximum efficiency; and 2. The design of a sport utility front bumper system for pedestrian safety.