On liver modelling under trauma situations

Cécile Conte (1) , Catherine Masson (1) , Nicolas Cheynel (1) , Pierre-Jean Arnoux (1)

1 LBA UMR T24 - Laboratoire de Biomécanique Appliquée

Thoracic and abdominal organs are typically severely injured during crash situations leading to severe traumas with high morbidity. To prevent this, the definition of efficient safety devices should be based on a detailed knowledge of injury mechanisms and related injury criteria. To this end, finite element (FE) simulation coupled to experiment could be a valuable tool to provide a better understanding of internal organ behaviour. This preliminary study aims to improve FE modelling focusing on the mechanical behaviour of the liver. It concerns the identification of structure mechanical properties up to the evaluation of damage occurrence. This work furthers the building of a methodology to implement liver behaviour in a FE model that is robust enough to encompass the biological, intrinsic and experimental variabilities. It is based on an ongoing experimental characterization of the liver under quasistatic compression. A first set of model parameters relevant to the subinjury level has been obtained. Subsequent damage evaluation was performed through von Mises level analysis by comparison to the experimental tests including necropsies and histological structure analysis. Results revealed that damage was centred in the middle part of the right lobe. This work moves us closer to a complete understanding of injury mechanisms incorporating clinical data concerning liver traumas. Abdominal organs, damage evaluation, FE simulation, inverse analysis

Mots clés: METHODE DES ELEMENTS FINIS; MODELE NUMERIQUE; ELEMENTS FINIS (METHODE); GRAVITE (ACCID; BLESSURE); VISCERES; BLESSURE

Domaines: Ingénierie biomédicale

Cécile Conte, Catherine Masson, Nicolas Cheynel, Pierre-Jean Arnoux. On liver modelling under trauma situations. Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry, 2009, 9 (4), pp167-170. ⟨hal-00849283⟩