A Novel Experimental Approach for the Measurement of Vibration-Induced Changes in the Rheological Properties of Ex Vivo Ovine Brain Tissue

Abstract

Increased incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) imposes a growing need to understand the pathology of brain trauma. A correlation between the incidence of multiple brain traumas and rates of behavioural and cognitive deficiencies has been identified amongst people that experienced multiple TBI events. Mechanically, repetitive TBIs may affect brain tissue in a similar way to cyclic loading. Hence, the potential susceptibility of brain tissue to mechanical fatigue is of interest. Although temporal changes in ovine brain tissue viscoelasticity and biological fatigue of other tissues such as tendons and arteries have been investigated, no methodology currently exists to cyclically load ex vivo brain tissue. A novel rheology-based approach found a consistent, initial stiffening response of the brain tissue before a notable softening when subjected to a subsequential cyclic rotational shear. History dependence of the mechanical properties of brain tissue indicates susceptibility to mechanical fatigue. Results from this investigation increase understanding of the fatigue properties of brain tissue and could be used to strengthen therapy and prevention of TBI, or computational models of repetitive head injuries.