Three Dimensional Finite Element Model of the Brain Responses to the Top Impacts of a Construction Helmet

INTRODUCTION Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are among the most common severely disabling injuries in the U.S. Approximately 1.7 million cases occurred in civilians annually during 2002-2006 [1]. Construction helmets are considered as essential personal protective equipment to reduce TBI risks at work sites. Despite wide applications of the finite element (FE) modeling in the study of the injury mechanisms of TBI [2] and in the design of sport [3] or military helmets [4], there is limited analytical study of the construction helmet [5]. In the current study, we proposed a practical FE modeling approach that would be suitable for engineers to optimize construction helmet design.