A Finite Deformation Model of Infantile Hydrocephalus

Abstract

Clinical data obtained about intracranial pressure volume experiments abound in the literature. However, what is lacking is a proper interpretation of the data. A nonlinear hyperelastic model is proposed in this paper which is more realistic and simulates successfully the various states and stages of infantile hydrocephalus which have hitherto been considered puzzling. Strain energy function incorporating two and three constants have been employed to develop the constitutive equations and pressure-volume curves have been plotted for arbitrary values of the constants. The available clinical data can be employed through the proposed model to evaluate the status of hydrocephalus and also to arrive at suitable measures to relieve the intracranial pressure and ventricular dilatation.

Key Words:

• hydrocephalus
• nonlinear model
• intracranial pressure and volume
• ventricular pressure and volume