Response of the Human Skull to Mechanical Vibrations

Ernst K. Franke

Citation: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 28, 1277 (1956); doi: 10.1121/1.1908622
View online: https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1908622
View Table of Contents: http://asa.scitation.org/toc/jas/28/6
Published by the Acoustical Society of America

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 VISUAL FACTORS AND SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY 1277

difference,statistically, in intelligibility scoresof the by approximatelytwenty percent.This increasein

listeners obtained between condition 7, where they
watched the answer sheet as they heard the speech
stimuli, and condition 11, where they did not look
at the answer sheets. The respective mean percent-
correct scores under these two conditions were
and 39.
In addition, it was indicated that there was no
differencein the correctness of responseof the observers
at the various distancestested. However, the analysis
of the data did indicate a significantdifference,statis-
tically, in intelligibility scoresrelative to the anglesat
whichthe observerssat with regardto speaker.
CONCLUSIONS
Sumbyand Pollackhave indicatedthat as the S/N
ratio decreases,the importanceof the visual cues to
listener-intelligibilityincrease.In the present study it
has been found that the addition of visual
auditorycuesraisedthe intelligibilityof receivedspeech courseof this study.
speech
intelligibilityis significant,
andis of importance
in assessingor developing voice communication
systems.Experiencegainedduring this experiment
furtherindicatedthat trainingin speech-reading
would
42 greatly increasepracticalvalue of visual cues in
communications.
The importanceof speechreadingtrainingand the
use of visual cues is evident where face-to-face voice
communicationhas to be conductedin high intensity
noiseenvironment.Television,lip reading,handsignals,
etc.,mightall beusedto increase the efficiency
of voice
communications for personnel
workingin highintensity
noiseenvironments,where standardinterphonecom-
municationequipmentis now inadequateor useless.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishesto acknowledgethe work doneby
cues to Miss W. Karry and Mr. Peter W. Houseduringthe

THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 NOVEMBER, 1956

Responseof the Human Skull to Mechanical Vibrations

EldeST K. Fi•AN•CE
Bio-A½ousti½s
Section,AeroMedicalLaboratory,UnitedStatesAir Force,WrightAir Development
Center,
Wright-PattersonAir ForceBase,Dayton, Ohio
(ReceivedJuly 1, 1956)

Measurements of themechanicalimpedance andof the vibrationpatternof thehumanskullaredescribed.

In the frequencyrangefrom 200 to 1600 cpsthe skull was excitedto vibrationsby meansof an electro-
dynamically actuatedpistonwith smallcontactarea.Data wereobtainedfromlivingsubjects, a dry skull
preparation,anda humancadaver.The modulusof elasticityof skullbone,calculatedfrom the resonance
frequencyof the skull,wasfoundconsistent with the valueobtainedby staticmethods.The propagation
velocityof flexuralwavesin the skullbones,ascalculatedfromthe naturalfrequencies, agreessatisfactorily
with theexperimentallydetermined velocity.It isshown,finally,that a vibratingspherical
shellisa suitable
modelfor the skulland describes its vibrationpatternswith goodapproximation.

INTRODUCTION measurementson the human mastoid,•?' which were

HEN the
vibrationhuman skull
eitherby isexposed
contact tomechanical
with vibratingstruc- mastoid, did not show any appreciableinfluenceof
tures or by action of a soundfield, it will respondby
vibrating in certainmodeswith an amplitudedepending
on its own structuralpeculiaritiesand the parameters
of the external stimulus.Exploration and analysisof
the reaction of the skull to vibratory forceswill con-
tribute to the understandingof the mechanismsof
hearing by bone conductionand of side tone propa-
gation.It may alsobear uponthe response of the head
to impulsiveforcesproducingskull fracture or brain
concussion.Last, but not least, it will advance the
generalknowledgeof the elementsof body mechanics.
Attempts to obtain experimentaldata for the skull
have, thus far, met difficultieswhich are commonly
foundin experiments with humansubjects. For instance,
madepreviouslyto obtaindesigndata for an artificial
skull vibration in the frequencyrange up to approxi-
mately2000cps.Instead,the experimentrevealedthat
the mechanicalpropertiesof the surfaceof the head
are predominantlycontrolledby the soft layer of skin
overlyingthe skull bones.Strongercouplingbetween
measurement'device and bone may be obtained by
using a dry skull preparation' this was done in a
preliminaryexperimentthat was performedwith the
intent to determine the fundamental resonance fre-
quencyof the skull. The measurementindicatedthat
the skull has its lowest resonanceat about 800 cps; in
• E. K. Franke, J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 24, 410-412 (1952).
• E. L. R. Corlissand W. Koidan,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 27, 1164-
1172 (1955).
 1278 ERNST K. FRANKE

living subjects,this frequencymay well be expected then be approximately0.5. If this estimateis correct,
to be considerablylower becauseof strongdamping the fundamental natural frequency of a dry skull
by the attached tissues.Sucha low value of resonance preparationwill be about 25% higherthan that of a
frequency,however,is at variancewith data for living living subject.We may conclude,therefore,that the
subjectspreviouslypublishedin the literature. G. yon measurement of the resonancefrequencyof a dry skull
B•k•sy3 for instance,suggested1600 cps; in a later preparationwill give informationat least comparable
review of this topic4 he stated that the skull resonance asto the orderof magnitudewith that of livingsubjects.
for living subjectsis about 800 cps.This is still higher The followingmeasurementmethod was used: The
than our own preliminaryexperimentswould indicate. occipitalsideof a humanskullpreparationwasput on a
Barany,5 in his extensivetreatise on hearingby bone small rigid support and its frontal side brought in
conduction,unfortunatelyuseda frequencyrange too contact with a vibrator. The tip of the vibrator con-
limited to have any bearingon the problemof skull tained a pressuresensitiveelementwhich recordedthe
resonanceand skull vibration in general.For all these amplitudeand phaseof the vibratoryforceexertedby
reasonsit appearedto be worthwhileto reinvestigate the driver on the skull.In addition,the amplitudeand
the mechanicalresponseof the skull to vibration and phaseof the velocity of the pistonof the vibrator was
to attempt the descriptionof the essentialfeaturesof measured.The impedanceof the skull was then calcu-
the skull responseby meansof a sufficientlysimple ßlated and the natural frequencies were obtainedfrom
model. the locus of impedancein the complexplane. For
I. IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENTS ON A DRY
detailsof the methodof measurement
and its theory,
HUMAN SKULL PREPARATION the readeris referredto Franke.7Two improvementson
the method described in this reference have since been
For two reasons,the measurementson the living madeandmay be worthmentioning.The first is the use
skull are particularlycomplex.First, the human skull of a drive magnet which is lessbulky and easierto
is filled with a highly viscousfluid (in a mechanical manipulate.The otheris the changefrom the measure-
sense,the brain tissuemay be consideredas a viscous ment of the displacementof the pistonto the measure-
fluid in the frequencyrangeof the wave motion con- ment of its acceleration. The motionof the pistonmust
sideredin this paper) stronglydampingthe vibrations be measuredin an inertial system; this conditionis
on the head. Secondly,the skull is lined on its outer difficultto fulfill by measuring displacement. However,
side with rather pliable tissuewhich prevents suffi- by recordingthe accelerationof the piston, it is ac-
cientlystrongcouplingbetweenmechanical measuring complishedautomatically.
devices and the bone. Both obstacles can be removed At first, the skull preparation was used without
by usinga dry humanskullpreparation.In this case, any attempt to simulate the damping effect of the
however,it must be determinedwhether the resonance brain fluid. The impedancelocusthusobtainedis shown
frequencies of respectivemodesof vibrationare at least in Fig. 1. On the abscissa is plottedthe resistance and,
approximatelythe same as thosein living subjects. I I I I

To obtain an estimate,it must be determinedhow much

the elasticmodulusof the bone is changedby the 4-
PARAMETER: FREQENCY IN C P S
-
drying process.Accordingto F. G. Evans and M.
Lebow,6 the elasticmodulusof a dry boneis, on the
averageabout 20% higherthan that of a wet bone.
2 -
Sincethe resonance frequencyof any geometriccon-
figuration dependsupon the square root of E, the
difference
betweenthelivingskullandthisdry prepara-
tion will be in the order of 10%. This meansthat the '-- 0
Z
inaccuracy
of resonance
determination
will,verylikely,
be greaterthan the inaccuracydue to drying. - • /
A secondobjectionto the useof a dry preparationis
the possibleeffectof tissueviscosityon the resonance.
It may be expectedthat no appreciablemagnification
of displacementat resonancecan be observed,and
thereis goodreasonto believethat the dampingwill
be almostaperiodic.The coefficient of dampingwould i. i i I
0 2 4 6 8 I0
3 G. yon B(•kt•sy,J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 20, 749 (1948). RESISTANCEIN I06 DYNE/ CM/SEC
4G. yon B(•k6sy,Handbookof ExperimentalPsychology (The
mechanicalpropertiesof the ear), S.S. Stevens,editor (John Fro. 1. The mechanical
impedance
locusof a dry skullpreparation.
Wiley and Sons,Inc., New York, 1951).
7E. K. Franke, "Mechanicalimpedancemeasurements
of the
tion,"
•aa••arC•-n•.b•;l•
•1•,•kl•go•mø
f(••)c.ønduc
humanbody surface,"U.S. Air ForceTechnicalReport 6469,
• F. G. Evansand M. Lebow,J. Appl. Physiol.3, 563 (1951). Wright-PattersonAir ForceBase,Ohio (April, 1951).
 RESPONSE OF SKULL TO MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS 1279

on the ordinate,the reactance.The frequencyis shown is almost constant. Therefore, one may concludethat
as a parameter.The natural frequencyof the system it is virtually the reactanceof the layer of tissues
can be read at the point where X-0 and R--Rma,,. In overlying the hard skull. The coupling between the
this case,it is approximately820 cps.The mechanical driving pistonand the skull is so loosethat no measur-
propertiesof the living skull may be assumedto be able reactions of the vibrations of the skull to the
stronglyinfluencedby the propertiesof the attached piston are detectablein the frequencyrange covered
tissues.Two phenomenamay be expected;one is a in theseexperiments.
decreasein resonanceamplitude, the other, a reduction To obtain better coupling between the piston and
of resonancefrequency.Therefore,an experimentwas skull, it was decidedto measurethe impedanceof the
made with the skull filled with gelatin to obtain at head of a human cadaver after removal of the skin;
least an approximationof the actual viscosityof the the periostium was at first left in place. The general
humanbrain (AppendixI). The resultsof the measure- shapeof the curve is the sameas that in reference1,
ments are shown in Fig. 2. In this diagram, the im- that is, the piston of the measuring device is still
pedancelocusalsohasa shapewhichcorresponds to a actingagainsta predominantlyelasticreactance.
systemof onedegreeof freedom.Its details,however, But, there are also significant differences. The
are different from those obtained with an air-filled absolutevalue of elasticreactanceis many timeshigher
skull. The resonance impedance has decreased to than that measuredwith the skin still in place. There
Ires=300X 104d/cm/sec and the resonance to approxi- is also a slight trace of resonanceof the whole skull
mately 500 cps. This is in accordance with the con- structure. By carefully looking at Fig. 3, one can
siderationsin the first paragraphsof this section. observea deviationfrom the 1/cofrequencyresponseat
II. IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENTS ON
approximately600 and 1000 cps; this fact indicates
HUMAN SUBJECTS
a small deviation from the predominately elastic
character of the reactance. At the same frequencies,
Usingthe samemethodas describedin Sec. I, the the resistancealso deviatesfrom the regular behavior.
impedance of the headsof living humansubjectswas The changestandsout more clearly when the curves
measured.During the experiment the subject sat of Fig. 3 are combinedinto onegraphof the impedance
uprighton a chair.The occiputwaslooselysupported locus (not shown)with the frequencyas a parameter.
and the vibrationswere applied to the foreheadby a There is evidenceof an extremelydampedresonanceat
horizontallyvibrating piston. The support of the 600 cpsand anotherslightlylessdampedresonanceat
occiputhad no influenceon the resultsof the measure- approximately900 cps. The accuracyof the measure-
mentsin the frequencyrangeunderinvestigation.The ment is rather small becauseof the high stiffnessand
results are almost identical with those found over the comparablesmall resistance. 7 Very nearly the same
mastoid2.•' As stated in reference 1, no indication results are obtained after removal of the periostium.
of skull resonanceor bonevibration couldbe found by In the following section it will be seen that these
impedancemeasurement. The reactancemeasuredis frequenciesare very closeto the resonancefrequency
virtually that of a soft springwith a resistance that that is observedon the living skull by meansof other
methods.

PARAIO.
ETER: FREQUENCY IN C PS III. MEASUREMENT OF NODAL LINES OF
VIBRATION ON THE HEADS OF
HUMAN SUBJECTS

The modesof skull vibration may be determinedby

measuringthe relative phase of motion at different
points of the head of a subjectalthough,as shownin
Sec. II, the resonanceamplitude is too faint to give
440
'• 432 any usefulclue.This methodwasfirst employedby yon
ß v.0'"' '•0258 Bekesy. a He obtainedfor the lowestexcitablemode,a
frequencyof 1600 cps. This result is considerablyat
variance with the data in Sec. I of this paper which
show that the frequencyof the modes,even of a dry
preparation,are well below 1000 cps.In a more recent
publication, 4 yon B•k6sy mentions 800 cps as the
resonance frequencyof the headwithout givingexperi-
I
I
I
2
mental details. Sincethe knowledgeof the resonance
RESISTANCEIN 106 DYNE/CM/SEC frequencyof theheadisof theoreticalaswellaspractical
Fro. 2. The mechanicalimpedancelocusof a gelatine
interest,the measurements of yon B•k•sy wererepeated
filled, dry skull preparation. in a somewhat modified form.
1280 ERNST K. FRANKE

the first mode of vibration of a sphericalshell.This

modeis essentiallya displacement of the skull as a
whole,parallelto itself.In Curveb of Fig.4 at 400cps,
anotherline of phasereversalis appearingnear the
pointof excitation at theforehead.On theotherhand,
the node line corresponding to the first node has
moved a little toward the occiput.This behavioris
well in accordancewith the theoreticalpropertiesof a
closedsphericalshell(seeSec.V) wherethe nodelines
change theirpositionasa functionof frequency during
transition from one mode to the next higher one. At
600 and 750 cps (curves½,d) a secondnodeline is
•o
o 5[:)0 I
I000 I
1500 2000 already well establishednear the foreheadand the
FREQUENCY IN C PS
first has moved still farther backward. The curves
Fro. 3. Mechanical resistance and reactance measured on the demonstrate that the resonancefrequency of the
forehead of a human cadaver after removal of the skin. secondmode of the skull--which is, incidentally, the
lowest flexural mode that can be excited here as well
The following method was used: The head was as in the experimentalarrangements of Secs.I and
excitedto vibrationsby meansof an electrodynamically II--falls in the rangebetween400 and 600 cps.This
actuated piston. The designof the piston which was frequencyis in the order of magnitudeof the corre-
pressed againstthe middleof the foreheadwassimilar spondingfrequencyof the gelatin filled preparation
to that usedfor the impedancemeasurements of Secs. (580 cps) and very likely somewhatlower,becauseof
I and II. The referencevoltage for the determination the fact that the damping of the head of a living
of the phasewasobtainedby pressing a boneconduction subjectis greaterthan that of the preparation.
transducer(usedas a pickup)againstthe middleof the At 900 cps(Curvee of Fig. 4) the secondmodestill
occiput.The surfaceof the headwasthen probedwith prevailsandis aboutsymmetrically developed.Curvef
another pickup; there are certainconditionswhich a showsthe situationat 1200 cps.Here the third node
pickup shouldfulfill to be an accuratemeasuring line hasappearedwhilethe othernodelineshaveagain
instrument.a The phasedifferenceof the two pickups moved farther to the left. The transition points from
was read on a commercialaudio-frequencyphasemeter the second to the third mode is now somewhere between
and plottedas shownin Fig. 4. 900 and 1200 cps. The exact frequencyis hard to
In passing,it may be mentionedthat the driving
voltageof thepistoncannotbeusedasa phasereference
sincechanges in staticcoupling force,whicharedifficult +.5 \ | 300 cPs
to avoid in experiments involvingliving subjects,will
changethe relativephasebetweenpistonand head. 400
c.P.S.
\\ •
In fact, the phase fluctuationswere so great that
measuring wasvirtually impossible. A referencepickup
placednear the pistonalsowastried but couldnot be -I.0
\\ .o_•
/
usedbecause, in this case,the vibrationsrecordedwere +1.0

causedby two differentmechanisms. Oneis the vibra-

tion of the underlyingbone, which is the vibration +.5 \%
to be measured;the other is a stronglydampedshear
wave propagatedalongthe tissuescoveringthe bone. c.,.,.
The latter alsodependssomuchon the staticcoupling
force that stable recordingis impossible.With the
referencepickupat the occiput,however,very satis- - 1.0

factory readingof the phasewas obtainedsincethe +1.0

l.•! I I I I I /I.__•,•_
relativephasebetweenthe two pickupsnow depends
onlyonthevibrationof theunderlying bone.Any phase
+.5
-'",.'h ,' "/'.,
changedue to fluctuationsof the couplingforce is •oo c.P.s.
I I
• \, •
/-
• '
transmittedequally to both transducers and cancels
out in their relative phase.
",k ,' /
',, øX•_ ,.'
Curvea of Fig. 4 showsthe phaseat variouspoints -I.0
I I I I I I I I I
on the circumference
of the headat a frequencyof 300 2 4 6 8 I0
DISTANCE OF PiCK-UP FROM REFERENCE POINT IN INCHES
cps.The phasereversesapproximatelyin the middle
transverse line of the head. This is a characteristic of Fro. 4. Phase of vibration of the circumference of the head.
 RESPONSE OF SKULL TO MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS 1281

determinebecausethe transitionis gradualin contrast

to the undamped sphere where the transition takes
place in a rather-short frequencyinterval. The theo-
retical frequencyratio betweenthe third and second
modeis 1.5 (seeSec.V). The frequencies of the second
and third modes which are compatible with this
figure as well as the results of the measurements,are
500 and 850 cps. These figuresare well in agreement
with the results obtained by the different methods
discussed in Secs. I and II and show that the resonance
Fro. 6. Sample of
frequency of the skull is considerablylower than wave train.
previouslyassumed.
IV. VELOCITY OF PROPAGATION OF
SKULL VIBRATION

The velocity of propagationof the vibration of the

skull may be derivedfrom the frequencyof the second
mode.Becauseit can alsobe measureddirectly without
theoreticalassumptions,it may be used conveniently
as a means of checking the validity of the results
describedin the precedingsections.The frequencyof
the secondmode is approximately500 cps and the
full wavelengthis one half the circumferenceof the avoided. If the band width of the signal were too
skull. In the subjectusedfor the determinationof the wide, different frequencieswould travel with different
modes, the circumferenceis about 25 cm after due velocities.This leads,in turn, to a severesignaldis-
allowancefor skin and periostium.From thesefiguresa tortion becausedifferent components of the spectrum
phasevelocityof 125 m/sec is computed. will arrive at differenttimes at the pickupsand it will
On the otherhand, the groupvelocityof propagation be virtually impossibleto determinewhich component
may be measureddirectly if the foreheadof a subject arrives first.
is put in contactwith a vibrator (electromagnetically The velocity was determined by measuring the
driven piston similar to that used for impedance travel time of the pulsefrom a pickupthat wasplaced
measurements) generatingrepetitiveshortwave trains on the foreheadabovethe vibrator to a secondpickup
consistingof five full periodsof sinusoidalshape.The locatedapproximatelyon the vertex.The pickupswere
envelopeof the whole pulsetrain is chosenaccording kept at a fixeddistanceof 6 or 12 cm, respectively,by
to a cosinefunction.The repetitionrate is low enough means of adhesivetape (looselystretchedto avoid
to allow the first pulse to die out entirely before the transmission throughthe tape).
next one arrives. The envelopeof the pulse spectrum The following apparatus was used' A pulse wave
is shownin Fig. 5. Its frequencyrange is sufficiently train is generatedby meansof an electro-opticaldevice
narrow so that virtually any appreciabledispersionis consistingof a rotating disk made of paper or card-
board,the pulsetrain beingcut out on an appropriate
I i i I I I
ß
part of the circumference.The disk rotates in front of
an illuminated slot, partially interrupting the light
6-
incidentto a photocell.The electricalsignalfrom the
photocellis amplifiedand transmittedto the driver.
The pickupsare placed on the head of the subject.
Their electrical outputs are then amplified, filtered,
Fro. 5. Envelope and connectedto the input terminalsof a dual beam
of the spectrum of oscilloscope. Both channelsare as nearly identicalas
the wave train used
to determine the possibleto avoid phaseshift betweenthe two signals
propagationvelocity generatedin the pickups.In spite of this precaution,
of mechanical vibra-
tions in skull bones. the phaseof the signalswasnot equalwhenthe signal
was applied to both pickups simultaneouslyfor a
check. In the actual experiment,therefore, records
were taken twice for eachfrequency,the place of the
pickupsbeing exchangedfor the secondreading.The
I ! I I I
5OO 4,00 600 t500 time differencein the arrival of the signal was then
FREQUENCY IN
calculatedfrom the two corresponding
tracesrecorded
1282 ERNST K. FRANKE

i i i
primarily causedby the geometryof the skull will be
3OO
substantiatedin the followingsection,whereit will be
shownthat the phasevelocity of wavestravelingover
a closedsphericalskull decreases
with frequency.

•- 20C V. COMPARISON OF THE VIBRATING SKULL WITH

A VIBRATING CLOSED SPHERICAL SHELL

/ To get an approximate theoretical model of the

vibration patternsof the skull, its vibratory properties
will be comparedwith those of a closed,thin-walled
sphericalshell. This is a rather crude approximation,
of course,primarily becausethe head is not uniformß
I I I
0 500 I000 1500 2000 The facial bone attached to the brain capsuleand the
FREQUENCY IN C P S
cervical bones, for instance, will certainly cause con-
Fro. 7. Experimentally determined propagationvelocityof siderabledeviationsfrom the behaviorof the simplified
vibration in skull bonesas a function of frequency. model.On the other hand, the sphereis the only body
geometricallyrelatedto the skull that hasbeenmathe-
on the oscilloscope. In this way, any phasedifference matically treated. A theory of the vibrationsof the
between the channels cancels. For convenience,the oblongellipsoidof revolution,the next better approxi-
sweepof the oscilloscope was synchronized with the mation,is not yet available.Any configuration giving
rotatingdisk.The recording wasdonewith a Polaroid a still better approximationwill probably present
camera.Figure6 showsa samplerecord;the frequency insurmountable mathematical difficulties. The vibra-
is 1000cpsand the timedelaycalculated to be0.4 msec. tion of a closedsphericalshell has been treated by
The resultsof measurementat differentfrequencies Love? A furtherdevelopment of hisresultsand,at the
areplottedin Fig. 7. It is apparentthat a considerablesame time, a more modern presentationhas been
dispersion exists.At the lowestfrequency measurable, workedout by Junger. n He gives•' an equationfor the
the groupvelocityof propagation is about80 m/sec. impedanceZ, of a sphericalshellvibrating in vacuo.
With increasing frequency,the velocityrisesslowlyat Theseequationshold in the caseof a radially directed
first. Between500 and 1000 cps, it risesat a much harmonicforceappliedat thepoleof a sphere.Sincethe
faster rate and approximatelyproportionalto the transverse componentof displacementcannot be
frequency.Above1000cps,it levelsoff at about 300 measured with the methods described in previous
m/sec.The groupvelocitynear 500 cpsis about 150 partsof thispaper,it will be omittedfromthefollowing
m/sec. The phasevelocitycan be found from the considerations.For the discussion,it is advantageous
empiricalcurveof Fig. 7 by applicationof theequation to expressin dimensionless form that part of the above
dcp
mentioned equationwhich dependson frequencyß For
Ca= Cp--k' this purpose the angular
frequency of the lowestmode,
dX coo,is introduced,which coois found by putting n=0
and it follows
wherec, is the groupvelocity,cpis the phasevelocity, 2E
andX is thewavelength.The valueobtainedisapproxi- coo•-
= ß
(1)
mately100m/secfora frequency
of500cps(depending p(1-- v)a•'
somewhaton the function chosenfor curve fitting),
Now • dimensionless normalizedfrequency,7, is
whichis reasonably well in accordance with the value definedby puttingco/co0=r•
and hence
of 125 m/sec calculatedin the previoussection.
Summingup, it can be statedthat the measurements 1 1
of resonancefrequencyare well supportedby the Z•= 2/h•0 •---+- (2)
resultsof the determinationof the propagationvelocity.
2 1--•(2rf'+ 1)
The frequencydependenceof the propagation n(n-t-1)
velocity,asshownin Fig. 7, canprobablybeaccounted
for by the viscosityof skull bone.Accuratemeasure- whereco=angularfrequency,h= half thickness of shell,
mentsof thepropagation velocityof surfacewavesover p=densityof shell,E= Young'smodulus,•= Poisson's
the thigh8 showa similarfrequency response,mainly ratio, n=integer (numberof mode),j=(-1)•, and
due to the viscosityof the tissues.This wasshownby a=radius of shell. The terms having dimensionsare
evaluatingthe wave equationfor a semi-infinitite now containedin the constantterm 2jhcoo only whereas
viscoelasticmedium.ø That the dispersionis not
•0A. E. H. Love, A Treatiseon the MathematicalTheoryof
8von Gierke,Franke,and Oestreicher,
J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 26, Elasticity(Dover Publications,
New York, 1944).
943(A) (1954). n M. Junger,J."•Appl.::'Mech.
19, 439 (1952).
9H, L, Oestreicher,
J. Acou•st.
Soc,Am,23,707(1951). • Reference
11;•.•443,
 RESPONSE OF SKULL TO MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS 1283

the variable part, i.e., the function of a normalized

frequency,
r/, is dimensionless.
Thispart is, therefore, 0 q' I.•
independentof thicknessand radius of the skull and
permitsthecalculation of theratiosof thefrequencies
ofthehighermodes to thefrequency ofthelowestmode'
r/0=l as assumed,r/•=0.9, r/2=1.87, na=2.74, and
r/4=3.51. The resonance frequencieshave beendeter-
minedin sucha wayasto rendertheimpedance infinite
for n= 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. That meansthat for everyin-
dependent mode,the vibratingsphereis represented
by an equivalent network of an inductance and a
_, I •'197

capacitance
connectedin parallel,with negligible +1

damping.The frequencies
whichweredetermined by
renderingthe impedance zero are fairly closeto the -I q-
2.0
infiniteimpedance frequenciesgivenpreviously. The o •o •'o • ,•'o ,•o 180
AZIMUTH 9 OF SPHEREIN DEGREES EXCITATIONAT 0' O.
phasevelocitiescorresponding to the resonance fre-
quencies listedabovecanbe easilycalculated sincethe Fro. 8. Calculated phaseof vibration on the circumferenceof a
corresponding wavelengths
are givenby X=a/n; the closed, thin-walled, spherical shell; normalizedfrequency as
calculation
shows slightly parameter.
that the velocitydecreases
withfrequency.
The axialphasevelocityof cylindrical
shells shows a similar decrease2 a excitingforcefor differentnormalizedfrequencies.
The
The phaseof displacement may be calculatedfrom similaritywith Fig. 4 is at onceapparent,and onemay
Eq. (27) of reference11 for variousnormalizedfre- considerit as a confirmationfor the validity of the
quenciesr/. In the zeromode,the radialdisplacementspheremodel.
ofthesphere isindependent
ofthemeridian (pulsating Equation (1) permitsthe computationof Young's
sphere). in thiscontext, modulus E by introducing numerical values for the
Thismodeis not interesting
for it cannotbe excitedby eitherunsymmetrical
force radius of the skull and the zero mode resonance fre-
free) or quency.The latter is not directly observablebut can
(pistonon forehead,head approximately
symmetricalforce (piston on forehead,occiput be calculatedfrom the observableresonance frequency
supported). of the secondmode(about800 cpsfor the dry prepara-
For the first mode,n- 1, there is a node meridian at tion) and the theoreticalratio r/2/r/0-1.81. Hence the
00--90ø.Thisis essentially a translationof the sphere elasticmodulusof the dry skullpreparationis
parallelto itself.The secondmode,with a nodemeridian E= lAX 10TM d/cm•'.
at both, 00=55ø and 00= 125ø, can be excitedin either
experimentalarrangement(skull free, or occiput The valueavailablein the literatureø.•4for theelasticity
supported).In Sec. III, where the details of measure- of bone is
ment have beendiscussed,it was made rather certain
E= 1.0X l0 n d/cm•'.
that it is this modethat appearssomewhere between
500and600cpsintheimpedance ofadry'skull prepara- The latter valuewasmeasuredon samplestaken from
tion as well as in the phasemeasurements on the head differentsiteson the femur.In particular,the samples
of the subject.A third mode,00=40ø, 00=90ø, and werecut from the hard layersof the boneonly and did
00=140ø is unsymmetricaland could be determined not contain any spongymaterial. The elasticmodulus
experimentallyonly by the phase measurements.A determiningthe resonanceof the skull, however,is
traceof it may alsobe detectable in the impedance determinedby the wholebone,includingthe spongy
in thiscase,it is part. Therefore, it seemedworthwhile to make a few
curveof theskullof a humancadaver;
probably superimposed
on the secondmode vibrations static measurements of the elastic modulus of the
becausethe occiputwasnot as rigidlysupported
as in whole boneof the skull usedin the experiments.Test
the experiments
with the skullpreparation. sampleswere cut from the skull preparationat three
It was shown in Sec. III that the node meridian sites,frontal bone,abovetemporal,and parietal bone.
movesslowlyaway from the point of excitation(fore- Modulus was determinedby bending the samples.
head) with risingfrequency.Suchmotionof nodesof The accuracyof the static tests was not too great,
displacementis well known on membranesand it also primarily becausethe thicknessof the sampleswas
takesplacein shells.Thenodeshiftduringthetransition rather irregular.Unfortunately,shapingof the samples
from the first to the second mode has also been calcu- would removematerially the hard outer layer only,
latedasa functionof ,/. Theresults areshownin Fig.8 thussignificantlychangingthe elasticityof the sample.
and representthe phaseof motionwith respectto the The resultsfor E were3.5X 10•ø;2.0X 10•øand 0.8>( 10•ø
•ap. W. Smith,Jr., J. Acoust.Soc.Am. 27, 1067 (1955). •4F. Seidl, Acustica3, 224 (1953).
1284 E RN ST K. F RAN KE

d/cm•',respectively.
Thisisthesameorderofmagnitude o•=angular frequency,and u•.=coefficientof shear
as computedfrom the resonance. viscosity.With a sphereof the diameter of 2.0 cm,
the value •2.• 20 cgsunits of viscositywasfound.
APPENDIX I
Methods
Viscosity of Brain Tissue
The theory of a vibrating rigid spherein a viscous The containerwas first filled with whole pig brains
elasticmedium,as worked out by Oestreicher,yields to the extent stated above. The sphere(blown glass
the drivingpoint impedanceof the sphereas a function sphere attachedto a thin glasstube) was immersedin
of the properties of the medium. Conversely, the approximatelythe centerof the materialand attached
elasticity and viscosityconstantsof the medium can to the sameimpedancemeasuringapparatusthat was
used for the measurements described in Secs. I and II.
be calculatedby application of this theory after the
mechanicalimpedanceof the vibratingspherehasbeen The brainwasvery fresh,usednot later than two hours
measured.The sphereis a first-ordersource.Applying after slaughteringof the animals,and kept at body
the theory to brain tissue, one is justified to make temperatureall the time. The frequencies of measure-
somesimplifyingassumptions.First, the attenuation ment were 150, 125, and 500 cps,the upper frequency
of the waves is, fortunately, sufficientlyhigh so that limit given by the inherentcompliance of the glassrod.
To obtain an estimate of the influence on the results of
the conditionof infinite medium is easily satisfied.In
other words,the reactionof the walls of a rigid vessel the fact that wholebrainswereusedand that, therefore,
containingtissuewill be negligiblysmall,evenwhenthe the masswas not quite homogeneous, contrary to the
container is not very large. A cylindrical vessel of premises of the theory, the brainswere groundafter-
approximately25 cm diameterand a filling height of wards and the measurements repeated.There was no
about 15 cm was used.Secondly,only frequenciesup significantdifference.
to 500 cps were used, so that only shear waves are The value of viscosityis in the order of magnitude
present.Compression waveswill occurat frequencies of that of glycerinat room temperatureand much
well abovethe rangeof importancefor skullvibrations. smaller than the viscosityfoundfor othertissue.
Accordingto reference8, we havethe resistance
of the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
sphere
Part of the work described in Sec. II was carried out
at The OhioStateUniversity,Departmentof Anatomy,
R= 6•-a• (,•) • + 6z-a,•,
Collegeof Medicine,with thekindpermission of Dean
R. C. Baker; the help of ProfessorR. W. Stacy and
wherea=radius of the sphere,o=density of medium, Dr. A. Fasolais gratefullyacknowledged.