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The Importance of the Scalp in Head Impact Kinematics

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Abstract

The best way to reduce the risk of head injury (up to 69% reduction) is to wear a helmet. In recent years, the improvement of helmet standard tests focused on reproducing realistic impact conditions and including the effect of rotational acceleration. However, less importance has been given to the development of a realistic headform. The goal of this work was to evaluate the role of scalp tissue in head impact kinematics; both with respect to its mechanical properties and with respect to its sliding properties. An EN960 and HIII headform were subjected to linear and oblique impacts, respectively, both with and without porcine scalp attached. Different speeds, impact locations and impact surfaces were tested. Standard linear drop tests (EN960) showed that the scalp reduced the impact energy by up to 68.7% (rear impact). Oblique head impact tests showed how the headform-anvil friction coefficient changes when the HIII is covered with scalp, affecting linear and rotational accelerations. Therefore, the scalp plays an important role in head impacts and it should be realistically represented in headforms used for impact tests and in numerical models of the human head.

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Acknowledgments

Funding was provided by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research programme under the Marie Sklodowska – Curie Grant Agreement No. 642662. The authors would like to acknowledge KU Leuven for the use of the high speed camera and Lazer Sport for the use of the impact set-up.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no relevant conflict of interest to report.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCD School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Antonia Trotta & Aisling Ní Annaidh

  2. School of Medicine and Medical Science, UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

    Aisling Ní Annaidh

  3. LazerSport, Lamorierestraat 33, Antwerp, Belgium

    Dimitris Zouzias & Guido De Bruyne

  4. Product Development, Faculty of Design Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Guido De Bruyne

  5. Department of Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium

    Dimitris Zouzias

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  1. Antonia Trotta
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  2. Dimitris Zouzias
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  4. Aisling Ní Annaidh
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Correspondence to Aisling Ní Annaidh.

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

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Trotta, A., Zouzias, D., De Bruyne, G. et al. The Importance of the Scalp in Head Impact Kinematics. Ann Biomed Eng 46, 831–840 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-018-2003-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-018-2003-0

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