Sequential Biomechanics of the Human Upper Thoracic Spine and Pectoral Girdle

This paper reports on a study undertaken to investigate the dynamic response of the human upper thoracic (chest) region. The authors note that thoracic spine flexibility affects head motion, which is critical to control in motor vehicle crashes given the frequency and severity of head injuries. They introduce an original experimental/analytical approach, Isolated Segment Manipulation (ISM), to quantify the intact upper thoracic spine-pectoral girdle (UTS-PG) dynamic response of six adult post-mortem human subjects (PMHS). In the study, a continuous series of small displacement, frontal perturbations were applied to the human UTS-PG using fifteen combinations of speed and constraint per PMHS. Mechanical parameters of the upper thoracic spine were determined from the experimental model and analyzed in each speed/constraint configuration. Analysis of the results revealed that the relative effects of test speed, pectoral girdle constraint, and PMHS anthropometry on the UTS-PG dynamic properties varied per property and direction. The authors conclude by calling for more research to verify accuracy in realistic crash scenarios. However, they contend that the UTS-PG model system dynamic properties could be used to develop integrated anthropomorphic test device (ATD) thoracic spine and shoulder components in order to provide improved head kinematics and belt interaction.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3503405/
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/19432461
• Corporate Authors:

  Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM)

  P.O. Box 4176
  Barrington, IL  United States  60011-4176
• Authors:
  • Stammen, Jason A
  • Herriott, Rodney
  • Kang, Yun-Seok
  • Bolte IV, John H
  • Dupaix, Rebecca B
• Conference:
  • 56th Annual Scientific Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
  • Location: Seattle Washington
  • Date: 2012-10-14 to 2012-10-17
• Publication Date: 2012-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 151–162
• Monograph Title: Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine. 56th Annual Scientific Conference, Seattle, Washington, October 14-17, 2012
• Serial:
  • Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine
  • Volume: 56
  • Publisher: Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM)
  • ISSN: 1943-2461

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Biophysics; Crash injuries; Crash injury research; Crash tests; Crash victim simulation; Dummies; Frontal crashes; Head; Injury severity; Neck; Occupant kinetics; Passengers; Seat belts; Spinal column; Thorax
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01482994
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 3 2013 9:26AM