Tensile mechanical properties of the perinatal and pediatric PMHS osteoligamentous cervical spine.

Pediatric cervical spine biomechanics have been under-researched due to the limited availability of pediatric post-mortem human subjects (PMHS). Scaled data based on human adult and juvenile animal studies have been utilized to augment the limited pediatric PMHS data that exists. Despite these efforts, a significant void in pediatric cervical spine biomechanics remains. Eighteen PMHS osteoligamentous head-neck complexes ranging in age from 20 weeks gestational to 14 years were tested in tension. The tests were initially conducted on the whole cervical spine and then the spines were sectioned into three segments that included two lower cervical spine segments (C4-C5 and C6-C7) and one upper cervical spine segment (O-C2). After non-destructive tests were conducted, each segment was failed in tension. The tensile stiffness of the whole spines ranged from 5.3 to 70.1 N/mm. The perinatal and neonatal specimens had an ultimate strength for the upper cervical spine of 230.9 +/- 38.0 N and for the lower cervical spine of 212.8 +/- 60.9 and 187.1 +/- 39.4 N for the C4-C5 and C6-C7 segments, respectively. The lower cervical segments were significantly weaker and stiffer than the upper cervical spine segments in the older cohort. For the entire cohort of specimens, the stiffness of the upper cervical spine ranged from 7.1 to 199.0 N/mm. The tolerance ranged from 173.6 to 2960 N for the upper cervical spine and from 142 to 1757 N for the lower. There was a statistically significant increase in stiffness and strength with age. The results also suggest that juvenile animal surrogates estimate the stiffness of the human cervical spine fairly well; however, they may not provide accurate estimates of pediatric cervical spine strength.

Mechanical properties and anthropometry of the human infant head.

The adult head has been studied extensively and computationally modeled for impact, however there have been few studies that attempt to quantify the mechanical properties of the pediatric skull. Likewise, little documentation of pediatric anthropometry exists. We hypothesize that the properties of the human pediatric skull differ from the human adult skull and exhibit viscoelastic structural properties. Quasi-static and dynamic compression tests were performed using the whole head of three human neonate specimens (ages 1 to 11 days old). Whole head compression tests were performed in a MTS servo-hydraulic actuator. Testing was conducted using nondestructive quasi-static, and constant velocity protocols in the anterior-posterior and right-left directions. In addition, the pediatric head specimens were dropped from 15cm and 30cm and impact force-time histories were measured for five different locations: vertex, occiput, forehead, right and left parietal region. The compression stiffness values increased with an increase in velocity but were not significantly different between the anterior-posterior and right-left directions. Peak head acceleration during the head impact tests did not significantly vary between the five different impact locations. A three parameter model that included damping represented the pediatric head impact data more accurately than a simple mass-spring system. The compressive and impact stiffness of the pediatric heads were significantly more compliant than published adult values. Also, infant head dimensions, center of gravity and moment of inertia (Iyy) were determined. The CRABI 6-month dummy impact response was similar to the infant cadaver for impacts to the vertex, occiput, and forehead but dramatically stiffer in lateral impacts. These pediatric head anthropomorphic, compression, and impact data will provide a basis to validate whole head models and compare with ATD performance in similar exposures.

Anthropomorphic simulations of falls, shakes, and inflicted impacts in infants.

OBJECT: Rotational loading conditions have been shown to produce subdural hemorrhage and diffuse axonal injury. No experimental data are available with which to compare the rotational response of the head of an infant during accidental and inflicted head injuries. The authors sought to compare rotational deceleration sustained by the head among free falls, from different heights onto different surfaces, with those sustained during shaking and inflicted impact. METHODS: An anthropomorphic surrogate of a 1.5-month-old human infant was constructed and used to simulate falls from 0.3 m (1 ft), 0.9 m (3 ft), and 1.5 m (5 ft), as well as vigorous shaking and inflicted head impact. During falls, the surrogate experienced occipital contact against a concrete surface, carpet pad, or foam mattress. For shakes, investigators repeatedly shook the surrogate in an anteroposterior plane; inflicted impact was defined as the terminal portion of a vigorous shake, in which the surrogate's occiput made contact with a rigid or padded surface. Rotational velocity was recorded directly and the maximum (peak-peak) change in angular velocity (delta theta(max)) and the peak angular acceleration (theta(max)) were calculated. Analysis of variance revealed significant increases in the delta theta(max) and theta(max) associated with falls onto harder surfaces and from higher heights. During inflicted impacts against rigid surfaces, the delta theta(max) and theta(max) were significantly greater than those measured under all other conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Vigorous shakes of this infant model produced rotational responses similar to those resulting from minor falls, but inflicted impacts produced responses that were significantly higher than even a 1.5-m fall onto concrete. Because larger accelerations are associated with an increasing likelihood of injury, the findings indicate that inflicted impacts against hard surfaces are more likely to be associated with inertial brain injuries than falls from a height less than 1.5 m or from shaking.

Regional, directional, and age-dependent properties of the brain undergoing large deformation.

The large strain mechanical properties of adult porcine gray and white matter brain tissues were measured in shear and confirmed in compression. Consistent with local neuroarchitecture, gray matter showed the least amount of anisotropy, and corpus callosum exhibited the greatest degree of anisotropy. Mean regional properties were significantly distinct, demonstrating that brain tissue is inhomogeneous. Fresh adult human brain tissue properties were slightly stiffer than adult porcine properties but considerably less stiff than the human autopsy data in the literature. Mixed porcine gray/white matter samples were obtained from animals at "infant" and "toddler" stages of neurological development, and shear properties compared to those in the adult. Only the infant properties were significantly different (stiffer) from the adult.