The response of lung tissue to direct impact trauma

The lungs are susceptible to injury resulting from behind armour blunt trauma (BABT). In this scenario, the deformation of the backface of the armour system impinges on the thoracic wall leading to elevated strain levels in the lungs. Within this context, the deformation of the lung parenchyma is heavily influenced by the heterogeneous bronchial structures within the lung. In the present work, we investigated porcine lung deformation resulting from the direct impact of a 53.5 g plastic sphere at impact speeds up to 16 m/s. Lung deformation was captured using a high-speed X-ray imaging system (7,500 fps). Radiopaque markers were used to track the parenchyma deformation in the trans-lobe and inter-bronchial regions. The instrumented lungs were suspended by the trachea and inflated to a gauge pressure of 0.27 ± 0.01 psi. Following impact, the lung tissue was evaluated for evidence of damage from the impact trauma at the impact site and the inter-bronchial regions.