Reducing Chest Injuries in Automobile Collisions: Rib Fracture Timing and Implications for Thoracic Injury Criteria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify the biomechanical response of the human thorax during dynamic shoulder belt loading representative of that seen in a severe automotive collision. Two post-mortem human surrogates (PMHSs) (one male and one female) were instrumented with 26 single-axis strain gages on the ribs, sternum, and clavicle. The thorax of each PMHS was placed on a custom spine support bracket designed to support the thorax on either side of the spinous process, thereby allowing free motion at the costovertebral joints. In addition, the support bracket raised the thorax above the flat base plate, which could otherwise constrain the deformation and motion of the posterior region of the rib cage. The thorax of each PMHS was then loaded using a custom table-top belt loading system that generated thoracic displacement rates representative of a severe automotive collision, 1.3 m/s for the male PMHS and 1.0 m/s for the female PMHS. The rib fracture timing data, determined by analyzing the strain gage time histories, showed that severe thoracic injury (AIS = 3) occurred at 16% chest compression for the male and 12% chest compression for the female. However, these values are well below the current thoracic injury criteria of 29% chest compression for the male and 23% chest compression for the female. This data illustrates that serious thoracic injury (AIS = 3) occurs at lower chest compressions than the current ATD thoracic injury criteria. Overall, this study provides critical data that can be used in the design and validation of advanced ATDs and finite element models, as well as the establishment of improved, more stringent thoracic injury criteria.

Experimental analysis of airbag seam design: high-rate shear testing for skin abrasions

“…While airbags have proved to be very beneficial, they still result in injuries to the face [28][29][30] and upper extremities [31,32]. The abrasion mechanism presented in the current paper applies the dynamic velocity required for the tissue loading to be relevant to field applications [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. The results from these experiments could be utilized to develop risk functions [43][44][45] for future airbag design consideration.…”

Design, Development, and Analysis of a Surrogate for Pulmonary Injury Prediction

“…Rib fracture is another common chest injury that frequently occurs in combination with PC. 8,15,26,27 However, PC can occur without rib fracture. Young people are more likely to have PC without rib fracture, while older individuals are more likely to have fractures.…”

The temperature inside football helmets during head impact: a five-year study of collegiate football games

“…In order to accurately assess the response and performance of safety equipment, it is important that the loading condition and testing environment are representative of the impact event being analyzed. 35–41 This study provides the first available dataset of temperatures inside the helmet during competitive football play that can be used to better understand the environmental conditions that football helmets are exposed to under loading scenarios. A large cohort of Virginia Tech football players were instrumented with the HIT System, which recorded temperature and head acceleration for head impacts experienced during 60 games between 2006 and 2010.…”