Creating a normative database of age-specific 3D geometrical data, bone density, and bone thickness of the developing skull: a pilot study

OBJECT Finite element models (FEMs) of the head are used to study the biomechanics of traumatic brain injury and depend heavily on the use of accurate material properties and head geometry. Any FEM aimed at investigating traumatic head injury in children should therefore use age-specific dimensions of the head, as well as age-specific material properties of the different tissues. In this study, the authors built a database of age-corrected skull geometry, skull thickness, and bone density of the developing skull to aid in the development of an age-specific FEM of a child’s head. Such a database, containing age-corrected normative skull geometry data, can also be used for preoperative surgical planning and postoperative long-term follow-up of craniosynostosis surgery results. METHODS Computed tomography data were processed for 187 patients (age range 0–20 years old). A 3D surface model was calculated from segmented skull surfaces. Skull models, reference points, and sutures were processed into a MATLAB-sup...