Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Controlled Cortical Impact Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 5, 2014
The effect of bone fragment size and cerebrospinal fluid on spinal cord deformation during trauma: an ex vivo study
Cecilia Persson1, Stewart W D McLure, Jon Summers
1Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
Object:
The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of CSF and the size of the impacting bone fragment area on spinal cord deformation during trauma.
Methods:
A transverse impact rig was used to produce repeated impacts on bovine and surrogate cord models. Tests were recorded with high-speed video and performed on specimens with and without CSF and/or dura mater and with 3 different impactor areas.
Results:
The CSF layer was found to reduce the maximum cord deformation significantly. A 50% reduction in impact area significantly increased the maximum cord deformation by 20-30%. The surrogate model showed similar trends to the bovine model but with lower absolute deformation values.
Conclusions:
Cerebrospinal fluid protects the cord during impact by reducing its deformation. A smaller bone fragment impact area increases the deformation of the cord, in agreement with clinical results, where a higher impact energy-possibly giving rise to smaller fragments-results in a worse neurological deficit.
