Biomechanics of vascular injury

Vascular injuries, including microbleeds and blood-brain barrier damage, are hallmarks of traumatic brain injury. However, there is still limited understanding of the links between mechanical loading of vessels and vascular injury after traumatic brain injuries. FE brain models have rarely incorporated vasculature, limiting their ability to predict vessel response under impact.

In humans, we mapped the venous system from high-resolution MRI, incorporated it into an anatomically detailed brain model, and used the model to predict the location of microbleeds in a sporting head impact. Large axial strains in veins lined up with where microbleeds appeared after the head loading, providing support for the use of the model in further research and to predict microbleeds.

In a rat model of TBI, we added capillary-scale detail from synchrotron imaging, and used the model to predict axial strains in capillaries. The model predictions were compared with the histopathological distribution of blood-brain barrier damage in an experimental model. The work revealed how capillary anatomy interacts with loading distribution to produce blood-brain barrier damage.