[Fatal head trauma of an infant. Part II: Biomechanical reconstruction]

Arch Kriminol. 2004 Jul-Aug;214(1-2):48-55.
[Article in German]

Abstract

An 18-month-old child was hit on the head by a falling wooden sculpture (c 60 kg) and sustained a fatal craniocerebral trauma. The kinetics of the trauma could be accurately reconstructed. The child's skull was then modelled using the finite-element-method. The material parameters known from the literature were assigned to the elements. The dynamic reconstruction performed on the basis of the kinetics calculated before was able to reproduce the destruction of the skull and the brain by simulating the impact-related topographical distribution of the intracranial pressure and the von Mises stress field.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Accidents / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Brain / physiopathology
  • Brain Injuries / physiopathology*
  • Computer Graphics*
  • Computer Simulation*
  • Elasticity
  • Finite Element Analysis*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Intracranial Pressure / physiology
  • Skull / physiopathology
  • Skull Fractures / physiopathology*