Viscoelastic computational modeling of the human head-neck system: Eigenfrequencies and time-dependent analysis

A subject-specific 3-dimensional viscoelastic finite element model of the humanhead-neck system is presented and investigated based on computed tomography andmagnetic resonance biomedical images. Ad hoc imaging processing tools are developedfor the reconstruction of the simulation domain geometry and the internal distributionof bone and soft tissues. Material viscoelastic properties are characterizedpoint-wise through an image-based interpolating function used then for assigningthe constitutive prescriptions of a heterogenous viscoelastic continuum model. Thenumerical study is conducted both for modal and time-dependent analyses, comparedwith similar studies and validated against experimental evidences. Spatiotemporalanalyses are performed upon different exponential swept-sine wave–localizedstimulations. The modeling approach proposes a generalized, patient-specific investigationof sound wave transmission and attenuation within the human head-necksystem comprising skull and brain tissues. Model extensions and applications arefinally discussed.