Kinematic Comparison of Pediatric Human Volunteers and the Hybrid III 6-Year-Old Anthropomorphic Test Device.

The Hybrid III 6-year-old ATD has been benchmarked against adult-scaled component level tests but the lack of biomechanical data hinders the effectiveness of the procedures used to scale the adult data to the child. Whole body kinematic validation of the pediatric ATD through limited comparison to post mortem human subjects (PMHS) of similar age and size has revealed key differences attributed to the rigidity of the thoracic spine. As restraint systems continue to advance, they may become more effective at limiting peak loads applied to occupants, leading to lower impact environments for which the biofidelity of the ATD is not well established.