Timothy J. Bonner

Strain-rate sensitivity of the lateral collateral ligament of the knee.

The material properties of ligaments are not well characterized at rates of deformation that occur during high-speed injuries. The aim of this study was to measure the material properties of lateral collateral ligament of the porcine stifle joint in a uniaxial tension model through strain rates in the range from 0.01 to 100/s. Failure strain, tensile modulus and failure stress were calculated. Across the range of strain rates, tensile modulus increased from 288 to 905 MPa and failure stress increased from 39.9 to 77.3 MPa. The strain-rate sensitivity of the material properties decreased as deformation rates increased, and reached a limit at approximately 1/s, beyond which there was no further significant change. In addition, time resolved microfocus small angle X-ray scattering was used to measure the effective fibril modulus (stress/fibril strain) and fibril to tissue strain ratio. The nanoscale data suggest that the contribution of the collagen fibrils towards the observed tissue-level deformation of ligaments diminishes as the loading rate increases. These findings help to predict the patterns of limb injuries that occur at different speeds and improve computational models used to assess and develop mitigation technology.

PROSPECTS FOR STUDYING HOW HIGH-INTENSITY COMPRESSION WAVES CAUSE DAMAGE IN HUMAN BLAST INJURIES

Since World War I, explosions have accounted for over 70% of all injuries in conflict. With the development of improved personnel protection of the torso, improved medical care and faster aeromedical evacuation, casualties are surviving with more severe injuries to the extremities. Understanding the processes involved in the transfer of blast-induced shock waves through biological tissues is essential for supporting efforts aimed at mitigating and treating blast injury. Given the inherent heterogeneities in the human body, we argue that studying these processes demands a highly integrated approach requiring expertise in shock physics, biomechanics and fundamental biological processes. This multidisciplinary systems approach enables one to develop the experimental framework for investigating the material properties of human tissues that are subjected to high compression waves in blast conditions and the fundamental cellular processes altered by this type of stimuli. Ultimately, we hope to use the information gained from these studies in translational research aimed at developing improved protection for those at risk and improved clinical outcomes for those who have been injured from a blast wave.