some current research
- Associate Professor Phil Waite, Neural Injury Research Unit
- Dr Veena Sahajwalla, School of Materials Science and Engineering
- Louise Hamby, College of Fine Arts
- Paula Dawson, College of Fine Arts
Associate Professor Phil Waite, Neural Injury Research Unit
Associate
Professor Phil Waite, from the Neural Injury Research Unit, within the
School of Anatomy, has been exploring, with her team of researchers, the
normal development of the brain, and how it is affected by injury. The
images you see here are from a collaborative research project with the
RTA's Vehicle and Equipment Safety Section, the Department of Health's
Institute of Forensic Medicine, and the UNSW School of Anatomy. The project
has addressed head injury in fatally injured children.
Previously, studies of brain damage following fatal road accidents have focussed on injuries in adults. However, the child's head and brain differ from the adult in relative size, rigidity and extent of myelination. This study investigates damage seen in children from birth to fourteen years. Assessment is made of the type, severity and distribution of injury, and this is correlated with information on the magnitude and direction of the head impact derived from detailed crash investigation. Such information can then be used in devising improving the design of vehicle child restraints to prevent such fatal head injury to children in future collisions.
After microscopic examination of each coronal section of the forebrain, cerebellum and brainstem, an injury score is derived for each brain. Each brain section is digitally imaged and analysed using NIH image analysis software. Finally, a 3-D construction of each brain is compiled showing the extent and severity of injury. This representation, using Rotator 3.5 software, enables a quick and comprehensive visualisation of the patterns of injury sustained.
Click here for magnified view
