Jeremy Sorel

Dr. Ben-Shahar
26 November 2013
Seminar in Imaging Sciences
Session 5: The Brain in Motion
The brain is the core processing unit of the body, vital to many of the
functions required for life. Whether consciously or unconsciously, the brain
controls our daily lives. As such, it is incredibly important to keep it safely
protected. Though it is encased in the thick skull, the brain is quite
malleable. Its consistency is roughly that of room temperature jell-o, making
it incredibly susceptible to trauma. Dr. Phil Baylys research in biomechanics
is dedicated to how this trauma affects the brain, and he uses various
imaging techniques to ascertain the knowledge.
In his lecture, Dr. Bayly first defined some common biomechanical
terms, particularly forces and torques; linear and angular acceleration; and
stress and strain. The first two categories, forces and accelerations, are
interrelated. In essence, forces cause linear acceleration, while torques cause
angular acceleration. These principals are founded on basic Newtonian
physics. Stress and Strain are different however; stress measures the total
force exerted on an element, while strain measures the deformation of the
same. Strain can lead to stretching of an object, and the way that certain
elements react to stress and strain determines the category it falls into as a
material. These categories are threefold, namely elastic, viscous, and
viscoelastic. Materials whose axial strain is proportional to its axial stress
rate are elastic. These materials include elements and alloys such as steel.
Materials whose shear strain is proportional to its shear stress rate are
viscous. Oil falls into this category. The last category, viscoelastic, is
something of a combination between the previous two, with stress
depending on strain and strain rate. The brain falls into this category.
As a viscoelastic material, the brain is susceptible to stress forces;
unfortunately, we often experiences theses forces every day. The act of
simply shaking ones head applies a torque to ones brain, albeit a small
torque. Despite the small force, applied, Dr. Bayly showed us a simulation of
the amount of movement that the brain undergoes from the common
experience. The results were surprising; even a small turn caused significant
motion for several seconds. Honestly, its staggering to think that even small
forces have such a great impact; if such small forces cause significant
motion, how much more would large forces cause? Dr. Bayly would later
elaborate on this subject.
After detailing the history of brain study (people were interested in the
structure of the brain as far back as Leonardo Da Vinci, whose autopsies
often included brain study), Dr. Bayly elaborated on the most common form
of imaging used to study the brain in modern day; magnetic resonance
imaging or MRI( According to a separate link Dr. Bayly gave as a mor

thorough description of how MRI works, the technique was originally known
as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. However, nuclear was dropped
because of the negative connotations associated with nuclear during the
1970s, the inception of the technique). The MRI is ideal for soft tissue,
particularly the brain, able to produce very high resolution images in real
time.
Dr. Bayly went on to list the motivation for his research, namely the
rampant, sometimes deadly head trauma that occurs on a daily basis. 1.5
million cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI) occur every year in the United
States alone. On average, 50,000 of these cases are deadly. Roughly 200,000
of these cases are sports related concussions. In addition, head trauma
overtime can lead to dementia pugilistica. This is a disorder characterized by
a loss in cognitive function, memory, and at times speech problems. This is
especially common in sports that involve repeated blows to the head,
particularly boxing.
Obviously, this shows a need for more research into the kinematics of
collisions in sports. Dr. Bayly showed us some research into impact
kinematics detailing the amount of forces applied to a soccer players head
when he or she connects with the ball. The results were staggering; the brain
experiences a linear acceleration between 150 and 200 meters per second
squared. In addition, the brain also experiences 1500 radians per second
squared of angular acceleration. These figures are immense, and can easily
cause excessive damage to the brain.
Though impact kinematics can show the acceleration that the brain
undergoes, it cannot demonstrate the deformation the brain undergoes. How
can this data be acquired? For this research, MRI is the preferred means of
collecting the data. A process known as MR tagging is used; this process
involves using an MRI machine to draw virtual lines along the object being
imaged. These lines then move with the target whenever the target
experiences some force (This technique was demonstrated earlier in the
lecture, when Dr. Bayly showed the short video of the brain undergoing
deformation after shaking of the head) This method can capture deformation
of the brain in real time, and can show the amount of force required for
moderate to severe deformation. He showed us some of the research he and
his colleagues had done, examining brain deformation at a linear
acceleration of 30 meters per second squared and an angular acceleration of
250 radians per second. In summary, forces such as these cause the brain to
deform significantly. Over the course of time, this can lead to the serious
injury described above.
In summary, Dr. Baylys presentation covered a few specific points.
Firstly, forces and torques cause stress and strain on the objects. Secondly,
he elaborated on how these forces and torques affect the brain, and how
excessive forces can be harmful. Lastly, he described some of the methods
used to image the deformation of the brain under stress, to establish a
baseline of normal deformation as well as define excessive deformation. The
research he does is incredibly important to our world today. Many of the

sports we enjoy, such as football, boxing, as well as some extreme sports

such as snowboarding, often result in excessive brain deformation, which can
over the course of time lead to serious medical problems. This research can
also help to improve safety in sporting events such as these, as well as a
general knowledge of how to better care for our brains. The techniques used
to obtain the data are also revolutionary, and could be instrumental in many
new fields. For example, MR tagging can also reveal how the brain reacts
under extremely severe trauma, such as blast trauma. These insights are
able to provide not only great new knowledge about how the brain reacts to
extreme force, but can als o give insight into how to counteract it. This
research could possibly result in some new ways to combat force and
shockwaves to help revolutionize sports head gear and body armor alike.
After all, we only are given one brain. We have to take care of it as best we
can.