Computational Modeling of Eye Trauma for Different Orbit Anthropometries and Different Projectile Impacts

Abstract

Over 1.9 million eye injuries occur each year in the United States, resulting in 30,000 cases of blindness annually. Common causes of eye trauma include motor vehicle crashes, military operations, and ocular impacts with sporting equipment. Research assessing eye injury risk with human variation and for diverse impact scenarios is important to the advancement of eye injury prevention and mitigation. For this thesis, a computational eye model was used to determine the biomechanical response of the eye for various impacts. Orbit anthropometric variation within the normal population was measured using CT images, and age and gender effects were evaluated. Measurements provided three-dimensional information on orbit geometry and were used to develop orbit models of varying anthropometries. Baseball impact simulations were conducted to assess the effect of orbit anthropometry on eye injury metrics. Simulations with eight different projectiles (airsoft pellet, baseball, BB, blunt impactor, paintball, aluminum, foam, and plastic rods) were run to characterize effects of the projectile size, mass, geometry, material properties, and velocity on eye model response. This study presents a matched comparison of experimental test results and computational model outputs including stress, energy, and pressure that can be used to evaluate risk of eye injury.