The objective of this study was to verify and validate an enhanced cervical spine segment finite element model to predict tissue-level failure under tension and compression loading. The predicted failure locations were representative of reported cervical spine injuries, and the predicted peak failure forces were within the reported experimental corridors. The displacement to failure of the tension simulation was lower than expected, attributed to limitations in the constitutive model. This study provides a validated approach to predict tissue-level failure for cervical spine segments, predicting the location and sequence of tissue failure, and can be applied to full cervical spine models for the prediction of injurious loading in automotive crash scenarios.
Keywords:
Finite Element Method, Spine, Injury, Validation