Effect of pediatric growth on cervical spine kinematics and deformations in automotive crashes.

Finite element (FE) models are a powerful tool that can be used to understand injury mechanisms and develop better safety systems. This study aims to extend the understanding of pediatric spine biomechanics, where there is a paucity of studies available. A newly developed and continuously scalable FE model was validated and scaled to 1.5-, 3-, 6-, 10-, 14- and 18-year-old using a non-linear scaling technique, accounting for local topological changes. The oldest and youngest ages were also scaled using homogeneous geometric scaling. To study the effect of pediatric spinal growth on head kinematics and intervertebral disc strain, the models were exerted to 3.5 g acceleration pulse at the T1 vertebra to simulate frontal, rear and side impacts. It was shown that the head rotation increases with age, but is over predicted when geometrically scaling down from 18- to 1.5-year-old and under predicted when geometrically scaling up from 1.5- to 18-year-old. The strain in the disc, however, showed a clear decrease with age in side impact and for the upper cervical spine in rear impact, indicating a higher susceptibility for neck injury at younger ages. In the frontal impact, no clear age dependence could be seen, suggesting a large contribution from changed facet joint angles, and lower levels of strain, suggesting a lower risk of injury. The results also highlight the benefit of rearward facing children in a seat limiting head lateral motion.

The Influence of Neck Muscle Tonus and Posture on Brain Tissue Strain in Pedestrian Head Impacts.

Pedestrians are one of the least protected groups in urban traffic and frequently suffer fatal head injuries. An important boundary condition for the head is the cervical spine, and it has previously been demonstrated that neck muscle activation is important for head kinematics during inertial loading. It has also been shown in a recent numerical study that a tensed neck musculature also has some influence on head kinematics during a pedestrian impact situation. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence on head kinematics and injury metrics during the isolated time of head impact by comparing a pedestrian with relaxed neck and a pedestrian with increased tonus. The human body Finite Element model THUMS Version 1.4 was connected to head and neck models developed at KTH and used in pedestrian-to-vehicle impact simulations with a generalized hood, so that the head would impact a surface with an identical impact response in all simulations. In order to isolate the influence of muscle tonus, the model was activated shortly before head impact so the head would have the same initial position prior to impact among different tonus. A symmetric and asymmetric muscle activation scheme that used high level of activation was used in order to create two extremes to investigate. It was found that for the muscle tones used in this study, the influence on the strain in the brain was very minor, in general about 1-14% change. A relatively large increase was observed in a secondary peak in maximum strains in only one of the simulated cases.