Project Details
Description / Abstract
Consideration of cranial biomechanics and the form and function of skulls has thus far focussed predominantly on the bone - its response to stresses generated in feeding and its role in the protection of the soft cranial contents. However, soft tissues such as the brain and eyes) develop first, becoming enclosed by fibrous capsules (e.g. periosteum, dura) within which the skeletal units ultimately develop and are maintained and shaped. This close integration of hard and soft tissues is understood by craniofacial clinicians, but has received little attention in broader comparative studies. Our aim is to clarify and quantify the role played by apparently inert cranial soft tissues in skull biomechanics and to determine their relative significance in the frame-like reptile skull versus the shell-like skull of mammals.
Our cross-disciplinary research group has pioneered an approach that combines the use of rigid-body modelling (MDA, multibody dynamics analysis), stress analysis (FEA, finite element analysis), and geometric morphometrics. Using this methodology, anatomically accurate working 3-D skull models (MDA) are used to predict joint and muscle forces, that are applied to FE models to predict the skull stress/strain under different feeding conditions. Comparisons with living animals have shown our models to be biologically realistic during biting, with convincing predictions of bite force, bone strain, muscle activation and jaw kinematics. The new project builds on this success with the incorporation of soft tissues (in fact the largest element of cranial contents) into the skull models. The anatomical data will be provided through dissection, histology, MRI, confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This will complete their construction, making them fully functional and responsive to a wider range of loading scenarios, especially dynamic loads, and increase their scope in comparative studies and more applied, in particular, clinical investigations.
Our cross-disciplinary research group has pioneered an approach that combines the use of rigid-body modelling (MDA, multibody dynamics analysis), stress analysis (FEA, finite element analysis), and geometric morphometrics. Using this methodology, anatomically accurate working 3-D skull models (MDA) are used to predict joint and muscle forces, that are applied to FE models to predict the skull stress/strain under different feeding conditions. Comparisons with living animals have shown our models to be biologically realistic during biting, with convincing predictions of bite force, bone strain, muscle activation and jaw kinematics. The new project builds on this success with the incorporation of soft tissues (in fact the largest element of cranial contents) into the skull models. The anatomical data will be provided through dissection, histology, MRI, confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This will complete their construction, making them fully functional and responsive to a wider range of loading scenarios, especially dynamic loads, and increase their scope in comparative studies and more applied, in particular, clinical investigations.
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/07/15 → 30/06/18 |
| Links | https://gtr.ukri.org:443/projects?ref=BB%2FM008061%2F1 |