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1.
Mil Med ; 188(Suppl 6): 634-641, 2023 11 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37948230

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Prevention and treatment of traumatic brain injuries is critical to preserving soldier brain health. Laboratory studies are commonly used to reproduce injuries, understand injury mechanisms, and develop tolerance limits; however, this approach has limitations for studying brain injury, which requires a physiological response. The nonhuman primate (NHP) has been used as an effective model for investigating brain injury for many years. Prior research using the NHP provides a valuable resource to leverage using modern analysis and modeling techniques to improve our understanding of brain injury. The objectives of the present study are to develop an anatomically accurate finite element model of the NHP and determine regional brain responses using previously collected NHP data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The finite element model was developed using a neuroimaging-based anatomical atlas of the rhesus macaque that includes both cortical and subcortical structures. Head kinematic data from 10 sagittal NHP experiments, four +Gx (rearward) and six -Gx (frontal), were used to test model stability and obtain brain strain responses from multiple severities and vectors. RESULTS: For +Gx tests, the whole-brain cumulative strain damage measure exceeding a strain threshold of 0.15 (CSDM15) ranged from 0.28 to 0.89, and 95th percentile of the whole-brain maximum principal strain (MPS95) ranged from 0.21 to 0.59. For -Gx tests, whole-brain CSDM15 ranged from 0.02 to 0.66, and whole-brain MPS95 ranged from 0.08 to 0.39. CONCLUSIONS: Recognizing that NHPs are the closest surrogate to humans combined with the limitations of conducting brain injury research in the laboratory, a detailed anatomically accurate finite element model of an NHP was developed and exercised using previously collected data from the Naval Biodynamics Laboratory. The presently developed model can be used to conduct additional analyses to act as pilot data for the design of newer experiments with statistical power because of the sensitivity and resources needed to conduct experiments with NHPs.


Subject(s)
Brain Injuries , Head , Animals , Humans , Finite Element Analysis , Macaca mulatta , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Biomechanical Phenomena
2.
Mil Med ; 188(Suppl 6): 420-427, 2023 11 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37948232

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Because brain regions are responsible for specific functions, regional damage may cause specific, predictable symptoms. However, the existing brain injury criteria focus on whole brain response. This study developed and validated a detailed human brain computational model with sufficient fidelity to include regional components and demonstrate its feasibility to obtain region-specific brain strains under selected loading. METHODS: Model development used the Simulated Injury Monitor (SIMon) model as a baseline. Each SIMon solid element was split into 8, with each shell element split into 4. Anatomical regions were identified from FreeSurfer fsaverage neuroimaging template. Material properties were obtained from literature. The model was validated against experimental intracranial pressure, brain-skull displacement, and brain strain data. Model simulations used data from laboratory experiments with a rigid arm pendulum striking a helmeted head-neck system. Data from impact tests (6 m/s) at 2 helmet sites (front and left) were used. RESULTS: Model validation showed good agreement with intracranial pressure response, fair to good agreement with brain-skull displacement, and good agreement for brain strain. CORrelation Analysis scores were between 0.72 and 0.93 for both maximum principal strain (MPS) and shear strain. For frontal impacts, regional MPS was between 0.14 and 0.36 (average of left and right hemispheres). For lateral impacts, MPS was between 0.20 and 0.48 (left hemisphere) and between 0.22 and 0.51 (right hemisphere). For frontal impacts, regional cumulative strain damage measure (CSDM20) was between 0.01 and 0.87. For lateral impacts, CSDM20 was between 0.36 and 0.99 (left hemisphere) and between 0.09 and 0.93 (right hemisphere). CONCLUSIONS: Recognizing that neural functions are related to anatomical structures and most model-based injury metrics focus on whole brain response, this study developed an anatomically accurate human brain model to capture regional responses. Model validation was comparable with current models. The model provided sufficient anatomical detail to describe brain regional responses under different impact conditions.


Subject(s)
Brain Injuries , Head , Humans , Finite Element Analysis , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Brain/physiology , Intracranial Pressure , Biomechanical Phenomena
3.
Mil Med ; 188(Suppl 6): 584-589, 2023 11 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37948285

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Use of wearable impact sensor devices to quantitatively measure head impact exposure remains largely unstudied in military-style martial arts training and combat sports, particularly at the beginner levels. The baseline frequency and severity of head impact exposure during introductory military-style martial arts trainings, such as combatives training, is valuable information for developing future programs of instruction and exposure monitoring programs. The purpose of this study was to describe head impact exposures experienced during introductory combatives training (a boxing course) at U.S. Military Academy. METHODS: This study used instrumented mouthguards to measure head impact exposure in U.S. Military Academy cadets during a compulsory boxing course. Summary exposures from a preliminary dataset are presented. RESULTS: Twenty-two male subjects (19.9 ± 1.1 years, 86.6 ± 11.7 kg) participated in 205 analyzed player-bouts (full contact sparring sessions) with 809 video verified impacts (average 3.9 impacts per player-bout). The mean peak linear acceleration was 16.5 ±7.1 G, with a maximum of 70.8 G. There was a right-skewed distribution, with 640/809 (79.1%) events falling between 10 and 20 G. The mean peak angular acceleration was 1.52 ± 0.96 krad/s2, with a maximum of 8.85 krad/s2. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to other high-risk sports at Service Academies, head impacts from beginner boxing were of similar magnitude to those reported for Service Academy football and slightly lower than those reported for Service Academy rugby. Based on these preliminary data, the risk profile for introductory military-style martial arts training, such as boxing or combatives, may be similar to other contact sports like football and rugby, but further research is required to confirm these findings and understand the effects of the exposures in a shorter duration.


Subject(s)
Boxing , Brain Concussion , Military Personnel , Humans , Male , Acceleration , Biomechanical Phenomena , Head Protective Devices , Young Adult
4.
Ann Biomed Eng ; 2023 Nov 05.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37926788

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Historically, head impact monitoring sensors have suffered from single impact measurement errors, leading to their data described by clinical experts as 'clinically irrelevant.' The purpose of this study was to use an accurate impact monitoring mouthguard system and (1) define head impact distributions for military service members and civilians and (2) determine if there was a dose-response relationship between accurately measured head impact magnitudes versus observations of concussion signs. METHODS: A laboratory-calibrated commercial impact monitoring mouthguard system, along with video and hardware to confirm the sensor was on the teeth during impacts, was used to acquire 54,602 head acceleration events (HAE) in 973 military and civilian subjects over 3,449 subject days. RESULTS: There were 17,551 head impacts (32% of HAE) measured with peak linear acceleration (PLA) > 10 g and 37,051 low-g events (68% of HAE) in the range of activities of daily living < 10 g PLA. The median of all HAE and of all head impacts was 8 g/15 g PLA and 1 J/4 J Work, respectively. The top 1% of head impacts were above 47 g and 32 J, respectively. There were fifty-six (56) head impacts where at least one clinical indicator of a concussion sign was observed. All the clinical indicator impacts were in the top 1% by magnitude of PLA, Work, or both. The median magnitude of these 'check engine' impacts was 58 g and 48 J. This median magnitude was substantially larger than the median of all HAE as well as the median of all head impacts. CONCLUSION: This study shows a correlation between single head impacts in the top 1% by peak linear acceleration and/or Work and clinical indicators of concussion signs in civilians and military service members.

5.
Accid Anal Prev ; 193: 107301, 2023 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37729748

ABSTRACT

Brain injuries in automated vehicles during crash events are likely to include mechanisms of head impact in non-standard positions and postures (i.e., occupants not facing forward in an upright position). Federal regulations currently focus on impact conditions in primary planes of motion, such as frontal or rear impacts (sagittal plane of motion) or side impact (coronal plane of motion) and do not account for out of position occupants or non-standard postures. The objective of the present study was to develop and use the anatomically accurate brain finite element model to parametrically determine the injury metrics under different vectors with head rotation. A custom developed brain finite element model with anatomical accuracy and several anatomical regions defined was used to evaluate whole-brain strain as well as regional brain strain. Cumulative Strain Damage Measure (CSDM) at a threshold of 20% strain and the 95th percentile of the maximum principal strain (MPS95) were calculated for the whole brain and each brain region under multiple rotational directions. The model was exposed to a sinusoidal angular acceleration pulse of 5000 rad per second squared (rad/s2-) over 12.5 ms. The same pulse was used in the primary axes of motion and (lateral bending, flexion, extension, axial rotation) and combined axes representing oblique flexion and oblique extension. Whole brain CSDM20 was highest for lateral bending. Whole brain MPS95 was highest for axial rotation. The rCSDM20 was more susceptible to impact direction, with several brain regions having substantial accumulation of strain for oblique flexion and lateral bending. Comparatively, rMPS95 was more consistent across all rotation directions. The present study quantified the regional brain strain response under multiple rotational vectors identifying a high amount of variability in the accumulation of strain (i.e., CSDM20) in the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and midbrain specifically. While there was a high amount of variability in the accumulation of strain for multiple regions, the maximum strain measured (i.e., MPS95) in the regions was more consistent.

6.
Ann Biomed Eng ; 50(11): 1356-1371, 2022 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36104642

ABSTRACT

Wearable devices are increasingly used to measure real-world head impacts and study brain injury mechanisms. These devices must undergo validation testing to ensure they provide reliable and accurate information for head impact sensing, and controlled laboratory testing should be the first step of validation. Past validation studies have applied varying methodologies, and some devices have been deployed for on-field use without validation. This paper presents best practices recommendations for validating wearable head kinematic devices in the laboratory, with the goal of standardizing validation test methods and data reporting. Key considerations, recommended approaches, and specific considerations were developed for four main aspects of laboratory validation, including surrogate selection, test conditions, data collection, and data analysis. Recommendations were generated by a group with expertise in head kinematic sensing and laboratory validation methods and reviewed by a larger group to achieve consensus on best practices. We recommend that these best practices are followed by manufacturers, users, and reviewers to conduct and/or review laboratory validation of wearable devices, which is a minimum initial step prior to on-field validation and deployment. We anticipate that the best practices recommendations will lead to more rigorous validation of wearable head kinematic devices and higher accuracy in head impact data, which can subsequently advance brain injury research and management.


Subject(s)
Brain Injuries , Wearable Electronic Devices , Humans , Biomechanical Phenomena , Consensus , Acceleration , Head
7.
Ann Biomed Eng ; 50(11): 1372-1388, 2022 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35960418

ABSTRACT

Wearable sensors are an important tool in the study of head acceleration events and head impact injuries in sporting and military activities. Recent advances in sensor technology have improved our understanding of head kinematics during on-field activities; however, proper utilization and interpretation of data from wearable devices requires careful implementation of best practices. The objective of this paper is to summarize minimum requirements and best practices for on-field deployment of wearable devices for the measurement of head acceleration events in vivo to ensure data evaluated are representative of real events and limitations are accurately defined. Best practices covered in this document include the definition of a verified head acceleration event, data windowing, video verification, advanced post-processing techniques, and on-field logistics, as determined through review of the literature and expert opinion. Careful use of best practices, with accurate acknowledgement of limitations, will allow research teams to ensure data evaluated is representative of real events, will improve the robustness of head acceleration event exposure studies, and generally improve the quality and validity of research into head impact injuries.


Subject(s)
Craniocerebral Trauma , Sports , Wearable Electronic Devices , Humans , Acceleration , Biomechanical Phenomena , Head , Head Protective Devices
9.
Brain Inj ; 35(7): 812-820, 2021 06 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34053379

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) continues to be a significant issue facing the US military. While TBI cases in deployed environments are of significant concern, an estimated 80% of diagnoses occur in garrison settings (e.g., military training).Objective: With the aim of improving the detection of potentially concussive exposures, the objective of this study was to evaluate the relationships between head impact kinematics and performance on a visual-vestibular balance task.Methods: Participants (n = 51) were enrolled in the Basic Airborne Training Course. Two sensors to measure head impacts sustained were worn. Performance was measured at four time points: baseline and at the end of each week of the course.Results: Visual-vestibular balance task performance tended to decrease over the course of airborne training for our participants, however, limited to the most challenging levels of the task. Also, head impact kinematic measures correlated with performance outcomes to suggest that worse performance was associated with greater number of impacts and greater linear and rotational acceleration and rotational velocity.Discussion: Our findings suggest that visual-vestibular balance task performance may be a useful measure for detection of sub-concussive impacts and that wearable sensors may provide useful data on head impact kinematics that relates directly to functionally relevant performance.


Subject(s)
Brain Concussion , Military Personnel , Acceleration , Biomechanical Phenomena , Head , Head Protective Devices , Humans
10.
J Biomech Eng ; 143(4)2021 04 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33558882

ABSTRACT

This study describes the results of anterior-posterior impacts conducted on the mandibles of 22 male postmortem human subjects (PMHSs). The objective of this study was to develop an injury criterion for the mandible based on blunt impact while the jaw was restrained. Previous studies have attempted to characterize the injury risk of blunt impact to the mandible; however, due to the translation of the mandible during impact and a limited number of fractured specimens, previous studies were not able to produce an injury criterion. Blunt impact to a restrained mandible is relevant to a wide array of helmeted individuals, including the military population and sports that require helmets with chinstraps. Therefore, in this study, specimens were positioned with restrained jaws and impacted using a monorail drop tower with a gravity-driven cylindrical impactor. Nineteen of 22 specimens sustained at least one fracture during testing. Injury cases had an average impact energy of 15.0 ± 5.7 J (11.1 ± 4.2 ft-lb) and a fracture force of 2684 ± 726 N (603 ± 163 lbf). Results were used to generate an impactor force based injury criterion through survival analysis. Risk of injury was modeled using a Weibull distribution and a 50% risk of injury was found to occur at approximately 2834 N (637 lbf). The developed injury risk curve can be used to characterize injury to the restrained mandible for future testing and research studies, especially in the development of maxillofacial protective equipment.


Subject(s)
Mandible
11.
Mil Med ; 186(Suppl 1): 424-429, 2021 01 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33499484

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Current methods for transporting military troops include nonstandard seating orientations, which may result in novel injuries because of different types/directions of loading impact. The objective of this study is to develop pelvic injury risk curves (IRCs) under lateral impacts from human cadaver tests using survival analysis for application to military populations. METHODS: Published data from lateral impacts applied to whole-body cadaver specimens were analyzed. Forces were treated as response variables. Demographics and body mass index (BMI) were covariates. Injury risk curves were developed for forces without covariates, for males, females, 83 kg body mass, and 25 kg/m2 BMI. Mean and ± 95% confidence interval IRCs, normalized confidence interval sizes at discrete risk levels, and quality indices were obtained for each metric-covariate combination curve. RESULTS: Mean age, stature, total body mass, and BMI were 70.1 ± 8.6 years, 1.67 ± 0.1 m, 67.0 ± 14.4 kg, and 23.9 ± 3.97 kg/m2, respectively. For a total body mass of 83 kg, peak forces at 10%, 25%, and 50% probability levels were 5.7 kN, 7.4 kN, and 9.6 kN, respectively. For males, peak forces at the 10%, 25%, and 50% probability levels were 4.8 kN, 6.4 kN, and 8.4 kN, respectively. For females, peak forces at the 10%, 25%, and 50% probability levels were 3.0 kN, 4.0 kN, and 5.2 kN, respectively. Other data and risk curves are given. CONCLUSIONS: The IRCs developed in this study can be used as injury criteria for the crashworthiness of future generation military vehicles. The introduction of BMI, sex, and total body mass as covariates quantified their contributions. These IRCs can be used with finite element models to assess and predict injury in impact environments to advance Soldier safety. Manikins specific to relevant military anthropometry may be designed and/or evaluated with the present IRCs to assess and mitigate musculoskeletal injuries associated with this posture and impact direction.


Subject(s)
Military Personnel , Accidents, Traffic , Aged , Biomechanical Phenomena , Cadaver , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Probability , Survival Analysis
12.
Mil Med ; 186(11-12): e1149-e1156, 2021 11 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33277987

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The U.S. Army conducts airborne operations in order to insert soldiers into combat. Military airborne operations are physically demanding activities with a unique loading environment compared with normal duties. A significant amount of research surrounding airborne operations has focused on assessing the incidence and type of associated injuries as well as the potential risk factors for injuries. During parachute opening shock and other high-acceleration events (e.g., fixed wing flight or vehicle crashes), the neck may be vulnerable to injury if inertial loads overcome the voluntary muscular control of the cervical spine and soft tissue structures. A recent epidemiological survey of sport skydivers showed that the neck, shoulders, and back were the most frequently reported sites of musculoskeletal pain. In addition, the survey indicated that wing loading (a measure of the jumper's weight divided by the size of the parachute canopy) was a potential contributing factor for developing musculoskeletal pain. Recently, there have been efforts to measure the severity of parachute opening shock as an additional potential risk factor for injury; however, no studies have measured both head and body accelerations and no studies have measured head or body angular rate during parachute opening shock. The purpose of this study was to measure and characterize the accelerations and angular rates of both the head and body during parachute opening shock as well as investigate potential factors contributing to higher severity opening shock, which may link to the development of musculoskeletal pain or injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected from the U.S. Army Parachute Team, The Golden Knights, under an approved Medical Research and Material Command Institutional Review Board protocol. Subjects were instrumented with a helmet- and body-mounted sensor package, which included three angular rate sensors and three single-axis accelerometers each. Data were collected at 2,500 samples per second. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine if helmet-mounted equipment (e.g., cameras), neck length, neck circumference, or wing loading (the ratio of jump weight to the size of the main parachute canopy) affected the accelerations or angular rates of the head or body. RESULTS: A total of 54 jumps conducted by 19 experienced free-fall jumpers were analyzed. For the head, the mean (± SD) resultant accelerations and angular rates were 5.8 (± 1.6) g and 255.9 (± 74.2) degrees per second (deg/s), respectively. For the body, the resultant accelerations and angular rates were 4.3 (± 1.5) g and 181.3 (± 61.2) deg/s, respectively. A wing loading above 1.4 pounds per square foot (lb/ft2) was found to have a significant effect on head (P = .001) and body (P = .001) resultant acceleration as well as body angular rate about the Y-axis (P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence to suggest that wing loading has an influence on individual head and body resultant accelerations. However, no significant effects were found for the other variables (e.g., neck length and circumference, helmet-mounted equipment, etc.). Future research should focus on identifying additional factors that result in changes in accelerations and angular rates of the head and body during parachute opening shock events.


Subject(s)
Aviation , Military Personnel , Acceleration , Biomechanical Phenomena , Head Protective Devices , Humans
13.
Ann Biomed Eng ; 48(11): 2667-2677, 2020 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-33111969

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to compare head impact data acquired with an impact monitoring mouthguard (IMM) to the video-observed behavior of athletes' post-collision relative to their pre-collision behaviors. A total of n = 83 college and high school American football players wore the IMM and were video-recorded over 260 athlete-exposures. Ex-athletes and clinicians reviewed the video in a two-step process and categorized abnormal post-collision behaviors according to previously published Obvious Performance Decrement (OPD) definitions. Engineers qualitatively reviewed datasets to check head impact and non-head impact signal frequency and magnitude. The ex-athlete reviewers identified 2305 head impacts and 16 potential OPD impacts, 13 of which were separately categorized as Likely-OPD impacts by the clinical reviewers. All 13 Likely-OPD impacts were in the top 1% of impacts measured by the IMM (ranges 40-100 g, 3.3-7.0 m/s and 35-118 J) and 12 of the 13 impacts (92%) were to the side or rear of the head. These findings require confirmation in a larger data set before proposing any type of OPD impact magnitude or direction threshold exists. However, OPD cases in this study compare favorably with previously published impact monitoring studies in high school and college American football players that looked for OPD signs, impact magnitude and direction. Our OPD findings also compare well with NFL reconstruction studies for ranges of concussion and sub-concussive impact magnitudes in side/rear collisions, as well as prior theory, analytical models and empirical research that suggest a directional sensitivity to brain injury exists for single high-energy impacts.


Subject(s)
Accelerometry , Athletes , Brain Concussion , Football/injuries , Head Protective Devices , Video Recording , Adult , Biomechanical Phenomena , Brain Concussion/pathology , Brain Concussion/physiopathology , Brain Concussion/prevention & control , Head/pathology , Head/physiopathology , Humans , Male , United States
14.
Mil Med ; 184(Suppl 1): 237-244, 2019 03 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30901450

ABSTRACT

Blunt impact assessment of the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) is currently based on the linear head response. The current study presents a methodology for testing the ACH under complex loading that generates linear and rotational head motion. Experiments were performed on a guided, free-fall drop tower using an instrumented National Operating Committee for Standards on Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) head attached to a Hybrid III (HIII) or EuroSID-2 (ES-2) dummy neck and carriage. Rear and lateral impacts occurred at 3.0 m/s with peak linear accelerations (PLA) and peak rotational accelerations (PRA) measured at the NOCSAE head center-of-gravity. Experimental data served as inputs for the Simulated Injury Monitor (SIMon) computational model to estimate brain strain. Rear ACH impacts had 22% and 7% higher PLA and PRA when using the HIII neck versus the ES-2 neck. Lateral ACH impacts had 33% and 35% lower PLA and PRA when using HIII neck versus the ES-2 neck. Computational results showed that total estimated brain strain increased by 25% and 76% under rear and lateral ACH impacts when using the ES-2 neck. This methodology was developed to simulate complex ACH impacts involving the rotational head motion associated with diffuse brain injuries, including concussion, in military environments.


Subject(s)
Craniocerebral Trauma/classification , Head Protective Devices/statistics & numerical data , Patient Simulation , Acceleration/adverse effects , Biomechanical Phenomena , Computer Simulation , Craniocerebral Trauma/diagnosis , Head Protective Devices/standards , Humans , Warfare , Wisconsin
15.
Mil Med ; 183(suppl_1): 294-302, 2018 03 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29635599

ABSTRACT

With the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the military and athletics, several commercial and military environmental sensors (ES) have been developed to quantify head impact exposures. The performance of five ES in controlled laboratory exposures from direct and indirect loadings, and the effect on impact protection and dynamic retention of the worn Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) was evaluated. Direct impacts were conducted on a drop tower and indirect impacts used a mini-sled. The ES data were compared with laboratory sensors through cross-correlation and comparison of peak values. The effects of ES on dynamic retention were assessed using a one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc analysis against baseline ACH performance. Two ES provided data during the blunt impact tests: one, attached to the side of the headform, correlated well (φ > 0.92) with the laboratory data; the other, mounted in the helmet crown, calculated peak headform velocity, which predicted laboratory velocity well. During indirect impact tests, one environmental sensor (attached to the side of the headform) provided usable data, which correlated well (φ > 0.92) with laboratory data. The inclusion of the environmental sensors did not introduce any safety hazards during the blunt impact attenuation tests or the dynamic retention tests.


Subject(s)
Craniocerebral Trauma/etiology , Acceleration/adverse effects , Analysis of Variance , Biomechanical Phenomena , Brain Injuries, Traumatic/etiology , Brain Injuries, Traumatic/physiopathology , Craniocerebral Trauma/physiopathology , Data Collection/instrumentation , Data Collection/methods , Head/pathology , Humans , Models, Anatomic
16.
Traffic Inj Prev ; 19(sup2): S178-S181, 2018.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30841808

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Pelvis injury mechanisms are dependent upon loading direction (frontal, lateral, and vertical). Studies exist on the frontal and lateral modes; however, similar studies in the vertical mode are relatively sparse. Injury risk curves and response corridors are needed to delineate the biomechanical responses. The objective of the study was to derive risk curves for pelvis injuries using postmortem human subjects (PMHSs). METHODS: Published data from whole-body PMHSs loaded axially through the pelvis were analyzed. Accelerometers were placed on the pelvis/sacrum and seat. Specimens were loaded along the inferior to superior direction using a horizontal sled or a vertical accelerator device. Specimens were positioned supine in the horizontal sled and seated upright on the vertical accelerator. Pre- and posttest images were obtained and autopsies were completed to document the pathology. Variables used in the development of risk curves included velocity, acceleration, time to peak acceleration, pulse duration of acceleration, and jerk for the seat and sacrum. Survival analysis was used for risk curves. To determine the best predictor of pelvis injury, the Brier Score metric (BSM) was used. The best parametric distribution was determined using the corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc). Injury data points were treated as either uncensored or left/interval censored. Noninjury data points were treated as right censored. RESULTS: Twenty-four PMHS specimens were identified from 3 published data sets. Fifteen PMHS specimens sustained injuries and 9 remained intact. The BSM ranged from 1.24 to 24.75 and, in general, the BSMs for the seat metric-related scores were greater than the sacrum data. The sacrum acceleration was the optimal metric for predicting pelvis tolerance (lowest BSM). The Weibull distribution had the lowest AICc, with right and left/interval-censored data. This was also true when injury data were treated as exact (uncensored) observations. The 50% probability of injury was associated with 229 G for the uncensored analysis and 139 G for the censored analysis, and the quality indices in both cases were in the "good" range. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical determination of the best injury metric will help improve the accuracy of injury prediction, prioritize instrumentation choice in dummy development, and improve design criteria for crash mitigation. The present study showed that injury risk curves using response data are better biomechanical descriptors of human responses than exposure data. These data are important in automotive safety because complex loading of the pelvis, including submarining, occurs in frontal car crashes.


Subject(s)
Acceleration/adverse effects , Accidents, Traffic/statistics & numerical data , Lumbar Vertebrae/injuries , Pelvic Bones/injuries , Pelvis/injuries , Biomechanical Phenomena , Cadaver , Female , Humans , Male , Posture
17.
Mil Med ; 182(S1): 287-294, 2017 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28291488

ABSTRACT

U.S. Military aeromedical patient litter systems are currently required to meet minimal static strength performance requirements at the component level. Operationally, these components must function as a system and are subjected to the dynamics of turbulent flight and potentially crash events. The first of two full-scale CH-46 crash tests was conducted at NASA's Langley Research Center and included an experiment to assess patient and litter system response during a severe but survivable crash event. A three-tiered strap and pole litter system was mounted into the airframe and occupied by three anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs). During the crash event, the litter system failed to maintain structural integrity and collapsed. Component structural failures were recorded from the litter support system and the litters. The upper ATD was displaced laterally into the cabin, while the middle ATD was displaced longitudinally into the cabin. Acceleration, force, and bending moment data from the instrumented middle ATD were analyzed using available injury criteria. Results indicated that a patient might sustain a neck injury. The current test illustrates that a litter system, with components designed and tested to static requirements only, experiences multiple component structural failures during a dynamic crash event and does not maintain restraint control of its patients. It is unknown if a modern litter system, with components tested to the same static criteria, would perform differently. A systems level dynamic performance requirement needs to be developed so that patients can be provided with protection levels equivalent to that provided to seated aircraft occupants.


Subject(s)
Accidents/statistics & numerical data , Aircraft/statistics & numerical data , Deceleration/adverse effects , Stretchers/standards , Biomechanical Phenomena , Humans , Motor Vehicles , Multiple Trauma , Stretchers/statistics & numerical data , Virginia , Wounds and Injuries
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