This study outlines a method for inducing mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rodents using a shock tube setup. The procedure involves creating a pressure spike that generates a shock wave, impacting the rodent's head and causing brain movement within the skull.
Start with a shock tube setup, including driver and driven sections with pressure sensors, a cushioned pipe shield, and a connected gas cylinder.
Place a polyester membrane between the driver and driven sections and secure it.
Place a fully anesthetized mouse within the pipe shield. This protects peripheral organs while exposing only the head, supported on a gauze pad.
Align the mouse’s head with its occipital condyle near the pipe’s edge to prevent injury to the brainstem.
Start pressure monitoring from the sensors.
Open the gas valve to generate a pressure spike.
The gas overpressure builds in the driver section, causing the membrane to rupture and releasing a shock wave through the driven section.
The wave exits the tube and impacts the mouse’s head, causing the brain to move rapidly within the skull.
This collision with surrounding bone damages certain brain parts, inducing a closed-head mild traumatic brain injury.
After preparing all materials required for the experiment, check the setup for proper installation by adjusting the parameters according to the aim of the study. Carefully cut the polyester membrane, and insert it between the driven and driver sections.
Secure it by tightening the connecting bolts. Place three pressure sensors at the exit of the shock tube at an angle of 120 degrees apart to monitor the blast wave properties during the TBI induction.
Using the micrometer, ensure that the distance from the end of the shock tube apparatus is correct for each respective subject. Keep the rodent's head position constant within studies to allow for consistent injury evaluation.
Using the software's graphical user interface, initiate the recording from the pressure sensors. Place the fully anesthetized rodent in the PVC pipe shield with cushioning to protect peripheral organs from the blast wave.
Place its head within the head placement area and support it from below by a gauze pad. Determine the head alignment according to each rodent's anatomy, with the occipital condyle aligned with the edge of the protective shielding.
Open the main valve of the compressed gas tank to produce a pressure spike, which ruptures the membrane, and a loud explosion that confirms the generation of the pressure wave. The membrane will be visually ruptured when removed after the experiment.
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