| In traumatic brain injury (TBI), the skull-brain interface, composed of three meningeal layers: the dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater, along with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) between the layers, plays a vital role in transmitting motion from the skull to brain tissue. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive imaging modality capable of providing in vivo estimates of tissue motion and material properties. The objective of this work is to augment human and phantom MRE studies to better characterize the mechanical contributions of the skull-brain interface to improve the parameterization and validation of computational models of TBI. Three specific aims were to: 1) relate 3D skull kinematics estimated from tri-axial accelerometers to brain tissue motion (rigid-body motion and deformation) estimated from MRE, 2) modify existing MRE data collection methods to capture simultaneous scalp and brain displacements, and 3) create cylindrical and cranial phantoms capable of simulating a CSF interface and dural membranes. Achievement of these aims has provided new quantitative understanding of the transmission of skull motion to the brain. |
