The Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) is a multi-center collaborative research program that focuses on in-depth studies of serious motor vehicle crashes. Researchers collect and analyze data in order to improve vehicle design, and the treatment and rehabilitation of crash victims resulting in a reduction of injuries, deaths, disabilities, and human and economic costs. This paper will examine the data that are available in CIREN and show how the enhanced level of injury information can be used to complement the data currently found in other data collection systems that are used to identify injury trends in certain types of crashes.
CIREN is also the name of a research tool being developed, updated, enhanced, and maintained by The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to help researchers collect and review injury data. Variables for CIREN crash reconstruction data are an extension of the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) Oracle data model. Variables for the medical injury data are based on a variety of sources, including the National Trauma Registry, the Orthopedic Trauma Association, and the Uniform Pre-Hospital EMS Data Elements.
CIREN has established a number of outreach and education information dissemination programs at their respective centers. This paper will also show how this information is used to train and educate first responders to be more aware of crash circumstances that can be relayed to emergency room personnel to assist them in identifying and treating injuries that may not be apparent.