This study presents the development of a porcine (sus scrofa domestica) model to represent the abdomen of a 6-year-old human for biomechanical testing, and utilizes this model to quantify the mechanical response and injury tolerance of the pediatric abdomen to seatbelt loading. The long term goal of this study is to develop a biofidelic abdominal insert for the 6-year-old Hybrid III crash test dummy which will provide automotive design engineers with a tool to quantify the response of the abdomen during belt loading in order to mitigate abdominal injuries in pediatric occupants. Five loading parameters were controlled independently (abdominal deflection, loading rate, loading waveform, active abdominal muscle tensing, and belt location) to yield 47 distinct, repeated tests on 47 subjects. A custom-built loading frame was used to generate forced displacements using a two-point, transversely oriented seatbelt over the anterior abdomen.

The injuries produced under the test conditions are the same types of seatbelt-induced abdominal injuries that are observed in pediatric occupants in real world automobile crashes. Specifically, the belt location is highly correlated to the type of injury seen, with upper abdominal tests resulting in more frequent liver, and spleen injuries, while lower abdominal tests more frequently generate injury to the large and small intestines. Preliminary examination of the data indicates that belt force, posterior reaction force, and maximum abdominal compression are predictive of abdominal injury. However, belt velocity was not predictive of abdominal injury, and the inclusion of velocity in a mathematical injury criterion (such as V*C) was not an improvement over belt force or maximum abdominal compression alone.