Tsang-Wei Tu1,2,
Philip V. Bayly1, Sheng-Kwei Song2
1Mechanical, Aerospace and Structural
Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, United
States; 2Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint
Louis, MO, United States
Knowledge
of the biomechanical properties of the spinal cord is crucial to
understanding the mechanisms and damage thresholds of spinal-cord-injury
(SCI). Numerical analysis, such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA), relies on
accurate knowledge of the in vivo material properties to model the stress and
strain fields in the spinal cord during rapid impact. In the present study,
we compare the extent of SCI, evaluated using in vivo DWI, to the predictions
of FEA modeling, using published values of mechanical parameters obtained in
vitro. Our results support the hypothesis that that SCI injury pattern
correlated with stress-strain fields predicted by FEA.