Spinal injury rates and specific causation in motor vehicle collisions.

Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are a leading cause of acute spinal injuries. Chronic spinal pathologies are common in the population. Thus, determining the incidence of different types of spinal injuries due to MVCs and understanding biomechanical mechanism of these injuries is important for distinguishing acute injuries from chronic degenerative disease.

Ice hockey shoulder pad design and the effect on head response during shoulder-to-head impacts.

Ice hockey body checks involving direct shoulder-to-head contact frequently result in head injury. In the current study, we examined the effect of shoulder pad style on the likelihood of head injury from a shoulder-to-head check. Shoulder-to-head body checks were simulated by swinging a modified Hybrid-III anthropomorphic test device (ATD) with and without shoulder pads into a stationary Hybrid-III ATD at 21 km/h.

Occupant injury in rollover crashes - Contribution of planar impacts with objects and other vehicles.

Planar impacts with objects and other vehicles may increase the risk and severity of injury in rollover crashes. The current study compares the frequency of injury measures (MAIS 2+, 3+, and 4+; fatal; AIS 2+ head and cervical spine; and AIS 3+ head and thorax) as well as vehicle type distribution (passenger car, SUV, van, and light truck), crash kinematics, and occupant demographics between single vehicle single event rollovers (SV Pure) and multiple event rollovers to determine which types of multiple event rollovers can be pooled with SV Pure to study rollover induced occupant injury. Four different types of multiple event rollovers were defined: single and multi-vehicle crashes for which the rollover is the most severe event (SV Prim and MV Prim) and single and multi-vehicle crashes for which the rollover is not the most severe event (SV Non-Prim and MV Non-Prim).

The tolerance of the femoral shaft in combined axial compression and bending loading.

The likelihood of a front seat occupant sustaining a femoral shaft fracture in a frontal crash has traditionally been assessed by an injury criterion relying solely on the axial force in the femur. However, recently published analyses of real world data indicate that femoral shaft fracture occurs at axial loads levels below those found experimentally. One hypothesis attempting to explain this discrepancy suggests that femoral shaft fracture tends to occur as a result of combined axial compression and applied bending.

Biomechanical injury response of leg subjected to combined axial compressive and bending loading.

Tibia fractures and dislocations among vehicle occupants injured in traffic collisions are costly and debilitating. The current criterion for predicting the occurrence of tibial shaft fracture in crash tests, the Tibia Index, relies on the combined bending and compressive strength at the mid-shaft location of the tibia. Recent studies have shown that tibial curvature and fibular load-sharing may influence the injury prediction of the leg and that the distal third section of the tibial shaft is the most commonly fractured shaft section in frontal crashes.

Injury tolerance and moment response of the knee joint to combined valgus bending and shear loading.

Valgus bending and shearing of the knee have been identified as primary mechanisms of injuries in a lateral loading environment applicable to pedestrian-car collisions. Previous studies have reported on the structural response of the knee joint to pure valgus bending and lateral shearing, as well as the estimated injury thresholds for the knee bending angle and shear displacement based on experimental tests. However, epidemiological studies indicate that most knee injuries are due to the combined effects of bending and shear loading.

Influence of age-related stature on the frequency of body region injury and overall injury severity in child pedestrian casualties.

Objective: The current study aims to evaluate the influence of age-related stature on the frequency of body region injury and overall injury severity in children involved in pedestrian versus motor vehicle collisions (PMVCs).

Methods: A trauma registry including the coded injuries sustained by 1,590 1- to 15-year-old pedestrian casualties treated at a level-one trauma center was categorized by stature-related age (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15 years) and body region (head and face, neck, thorax, abdomen and pelvic content, thoracic and lumbar spine, upper extremities, pelvis, and lower extremities). The lower extremity category was further divided into three sub-structures (thigh, leg, and knee).

The influence of age on the morbidity and mortality of pedestrian victims.

Objectives: The present study examined the influence of age on the morbidity and mortality of pedestrian victims while controlling for confounding factors.

Methods: The Pedestrian Crash Data Study (PCDS) database was used for a cross-sectional study to compare the outcome of senior (age >or=60 years) and adult (age 19 to 50 years) pedestrian victims. The outcome measures were the Injury Severity Score (ISS), Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS), Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), and Mortality.

Significance of adult pedestrian torso injury.

The current paper uses data from two trauma registries to evaluate the significance of adult pedestrian torso injury relative to head and lower extremity injuries and to determine the relative importance of injuries to individual torso organs/structures. Analyses are conducted with and without adjusting for striking vehicle body type (car versus LTV). Although the incidence of torso injury is approximately 50% higher in pedestrians struck by LTVs than in those struck by cars, torso injury appears to be as an important contributor to the overall cost of pedestrian morbidity as is lower extremity injury.

Pedestrian and pedalcyclist injury costs in the United States by age and injury severity.

This paper estimates the incidence, unit costs, and annual costs of pedestrian and pedalcycle crash injuries in the United States. It includes medical care costs, household and wage work losses, and the value of pain, suffering, and lost quality of life. The estimates are broken down by body region and severity.