Pilot Findings of Brain Displacements and Deformations during Roller Coaster Rides.

ABSTRACT: With 300,000,000 riders annually, roller coasters are a popular recreational activity. Although the number of roller coaster injuries is relatively low, the precise effect of roller coaster rides on our brains remains unknown. Here we present the quantitative characterization of brain displacements and deformations during roller coaster rides. For two healthy adult male subjects, we recorded head accelerations during three representative rides, and, for comparison, during running and soccer headers. From the recordings, we simulated brain displacements and deformations using rigid body dynamics and finite element analyses. Our findings show that despite having lower linear accelerations than sports head impacts, roller coasters may lead to brain displacements and strains comparable to mild

SUBMITTER: Kuo C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6436029 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature