A review of cervical fractures and fracture-dislocations without head impacts sustained by restrained occupants

Crash injury reduction via lap-shoulder belt use has been well documented. Like any other interior car component, lap-shoulder belts may be related to injury in certain crashes. Relatively unknown is the fact that cervical fractures or fracture-dislocations to restrained front seat occupants occur where no head contact was evidenced by both medical records and car inspection. A review of the available literature on car crash injuries revealed more than 100 such cases. A review of the National Accident Severity Study (NASS) 80-88 file was also conducted, revealing more examples. Case capsule descriptions from the authors' files are also detailed along with examples of such injuries in infants and children in child restraints. However, cervical fractures or fracture dislocations are rare, as evidenced by the relatively few cases identified in the literature, in the author's files, and by an analysis of NASS 80-90 data that revealed a cervical spine injury frequency of only .4% at the AIS-3 level (Hueike, Morris, and Mackay 1992).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30429/1/0000050.pd

Cervical spine biomechanics: A review of the literature

This article reviews the many clinical and laboratory investigative research reports on the frequency, causes, and biomechanics of human cervical spine impact injuries and tolerances. Neck injury mechanisms have been hypothesized from clinically observed cervical spine injuries without laboratory verification. However, many of the laboratory experiments used static loading techniques of cervical spine segments. Only recently have dynamic impact studies been conducted. Results indicate that crown-of-head impacts can routinely produce compression of the neck with extension or flexion motion. However, the two-dimensional (midsagittal) movement of the head bowing into the chest does not routinely produce flexion/compression type damage to the cervical spine. Flexion/compression damage to the cervical spine can be produced by prepositioning the subject so that upon impact, a three-dimensional motion of the head and neck occurs. Future laboratory research is needed to determine the forces and impact directions required to produce the various known fracture types and dislocations for a clear, accurate description of the cervical spine impact dynamics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50376/1/1100040212_ftp.pd

Quantification of occupant response and injury from impact. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.Mode of access: Internet.Author corporate affiliation: Heidelberg Universitaet, Institut fuer Rechtsmedizin, Germany FRReport covers the period 1980 - 1985. Released 1989Subject code: DFKSubject code: DGEOSSubject code: JLTSubject code: NRSESubject code: NU*ENSubject code: WSM*NLSISubject code: XMCSSubject code: XM

Protection for Thorax Injury Severity in 90° Lateral Collision

The thoracic trauma index (TTI) and the viscous criterion (VC) are injury criteria intended for the prediction of torso injury severity. The criteria were assessed in two series of experiments: 90° (lateral) car to car collisions and controlled left trunk impacts against either a rigid or padded wall. Forty-two belt restrained human cadavers in the age range 18–65 years, located in the near-side front passenger seat, were used. The impact velocity was between 40 and 60 km/h. Left and right side impacts were simulated using standard or modified car side structures. With the second series of experiments, the left side of each subject was impacted under one of two different test conditions: 24 km/h rigid wall or 32 km/h padded wall. The thorax deformation was evaluated through the double integration of the accelerated difference at the fourth and eight ribs, near and far side. Deformation maxima of 6–138 mm (mean 69 mm), VC values of 0.3–4.7 m/s (mean 1.6 m/s), and TTI values of 85–252 (mean 63) occurred. Torso abbreviated injury severity (AIS) values were between 0 and 5. Statistical analyses showed a stronger influence of age on injury severity than the injury criteria or biomechanical responses in the two series of experiments. The TTI showed the highest correlation with thoracic AIS and the number of rib fractures, while VC was the better predictor of abdominal AIS. The results are discussed critically and the strength and robustness of the injury criteria analyzed

Kick it with elasticity: Safety and performance in human robot soccer

The RoboCup community has one definite goal [H. Kitano, M. Asada, RoboCup humanoid challenge: That's one small step for a robot, one giant leap for mankind, in: IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS1998, Victoria, pp. 419�424, 1998]: winning against the human world soccer champion team by the year 2050. This implies real tackles and fouls between humans and robots, rising safety concerns for the robots and even more important for the human players. Nowadays, similar questions are discussed in the field of physical human�robot interaction (pHRI), but mainly in the context of industrial and service robotics applications. The first part of our paper is an attempt for a pHRI view on human�robot soccer. We take scenes from real soccer matches and discuss what could have happened if one of the teams consisted of robots instead of humans. The most important result is that elastic joints are needed to reduce the impact during collisions. The second and third part consider conversely, how the robot can handle the impact of kicking the ball and how it can reach the velocity of human-level soccer. Again joint elasticity is the key point. Overall, the paper analyzes a vision far ahead. However, all our conclusions are based on concrete simulations, experiments, derivations, or findings from sports science, forensics, and pHRI

Cervical human spine loads during traumatomechanical investigations

The last decade's improvements in automotive safety resulted into a significant decrease of fatal injuries. However, due to the use of belts and airbags it can be observed that cervical spine injuries, non-severe and severe, have become more important. It seems that inertial loading of the neck by the head is an important loading mechanism causing these injuries. Until now local deformations and load paths in the cervical spine can not be determined accurately from cadaver experiments due to the lack of adequate measuring techniques. At this moment the loads at the occipital condyles can be estimated by analyzing high-speed film and the linear and angular accelerations of the head. These loads show a correlation with (local) cervical spine injuries in car crashes. The head-neck response, the neck loads and the sustained injuries obtained from human cadaver experiments in the frontal, lateral and rear-end collisions were investigated to increase the knowledge of the traumatomechanics of the cervical spine. The severity of these experiments, e.g., sled deceleration, varies from 11 to 15 g for frontal, and 7 g for rear-end collisions; for lateral impacts, the shoulder was accelerated with 100 to 130 g through the intruded side wall of the car. It was observed, that rotational accelerations of 1000 rad/sec²do not lead to recognizable injuries during postmortem loadings, while rotational accelerations of 2000 - 3000 rad/sec²or bending moments of 80 - 100 Nm can lead to injuries of ligaments, intervertebral discs and compression fractures of vertebral bodies. Shear forces in frontal collisions of 1000 - 1500 N at the level of the occipital condyles cause strength of the joints in this region. The resultant acceleration at the head center of gravity varies from 20 to 45 g