All are welcome (attendance required for graduate students). Lunch is provided.

Rong Z. Gan, Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Oklahoma

Biomechanical Measurement and Modeling of Blast Injury and Hearing Protection Mechanisms

Blast overpressure is a high intensity disturbance in the ambient air pressure. When exposed to blast, the human auditory system is vulnerable to both peripheral and central damage from the overpressure. Blast-induced ear injuries include the tympanic membrane (TM) rupture, ossicular chain disruption, and inner ear damage. To understand how blast waves are transmitted from the ear canal to the TM, middle ear, and cochlea and result in hearing impairment, we have conducted a series of experiments in human cadaver ears or temporal bones and the animals to measure the blast overpressure transmission through the ear, the injuries of the middle ear tissues and cochlear hail cells, and the hearing function damage in our lab. The 3D finite element (FE) model of the human ear, consisting of the ear canal, TM, middle ear, and cochlea, has been expanded to simulate the blast pressure wave transduction through the ear and the damage in the peripheral auditory system. Using the experimental data, the FE model of the human ear was validated and used as a tool for auditory blast injury prediction and protective function evaluation for hearing protection devices. This talk will cover both biomechanical measurement and modeling studies on blast-induced auditory injuries and hearing protection mechanisms.