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The WRAIR Projectile Concussive Impact Model of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Re-design, Testing and Preclinical Validation

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Abstract

The WRAIR projectile concussive impact (PCI) model was developed for preclinical study of concussion. It represents a truly non-invasive closed-head injury caused by a blunt impact. The original design, however, has several drawbacks that limit the manipulation of injury parameters. The present study describes engineering advancements made to the PCI injury model including helmet material testing, projectile impact energy/head kinematics and impact location. Material testing indicated that among the tested materials, ‘fiber-glass/carbon’ had the lowest elastic modulus and yield stress for providing an relative high percentage of load transfer from the projectile impact, resulting in significant hippocampal astrocyte activation. Impact energy testing of small projectiles, ranging in shape and size, showed the steel sphere produced the highest impact energy and the most consistent impact characteristics. Additional tests confirmed the steel sphere produced linear and rotational motions on the rat’s head while remaining within a range that meets the criteria for mTBI. Finally, impact location testing results showed that PCI targeted at the temporoparietal surface of the rat head produced the most prominent gait abnormalities. Using the parameters defined above, pilot studies were conducted to provide initial validation of the PCI model demonstrating quantifiable and significant increases in righting reflex recovery time, axonal damage and astrocyte activation following single and multiple concussions.

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Acknowledgments

The views of the authors do not purport or reflect the position of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense (para 4-3, AR 360-5). The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest in this study. This research is funded by Combat Casualty Care Research Program and Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (Contract #: W81XWH-12-2-0134). The authors would like to thank Weihong Yang, Francis Bustos, Megan Winter, David Miles and SGT Shawn McLoughlin for technical supports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain Trauma Neuroprotection and Neurorestoration Branch, Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA

    Lai Yee Leung, Casandra Cartagena, Andrea Mountney, Ying Deng-Bryant, Kara Schmid, Deborah Shear & Frank Tortella

  2. Composites and Hybrid Materials Branch, United States Army Research Labs, Aberdeen, MD, USA

    Zachary Larimore & Larry Holmes

Authors
  1. Lai Yee Leung
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  2. Zachary Larimore
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  3. Larry Holmes
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  4. Casandra Cartagena
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  9. Frank Tortella
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Correspondence to Lai Yee Leung.

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Associate Editor Stefan M Duma oversaw the review of this article.

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Leung, L.Y., Larimore, Z., Holmes, L. et al. The WRAIR Projectile Concussive Impact Model of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Re-design, Testing and Preclinical Validation. Ann Biomed Eng 42, 1618–1630 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-014-1014-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-014-1014-8

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