Development of new criteria for assessing the risk of knee-thigh-hip injury in frontal impacts using Hybrid III femur force measurements

Rupp, Jonathan D.; Reed, Matthew P.; Miller, Carl S.; Madura, Nathaniel H.; Klinich, Kathleen D.; Kuppa, Shashi M.; Schneider, Lawrence W.

Affiliations

¹University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)

²The University of Michigan, Department of Emergency Medicine

³The University Michigan, Department of Biomedical, Engineering

⁴The University Michigan, Department of Industrial, and Operations Engineering

⁵National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, United States

Abstract

Injury patterns in real-world frontal crashes and the forces predicted in computational simulations of knee impacts suggest that the risk of hip injury is higher than the risk of knee/distal femur injury in most frontal crashes that are similar in severity to those used in FMVSS 208 and NCAP. However, the kneethigh- hip (KTH) injury criterion that is currently used with Hybrid III femur forces in FMVSS 208 and NCAP only assesses the risk of knee/distal femur injury.

As a first step to developing new KTH injury assessment criteria that apply to hip and knee/distal femur injury, a one-dimensional lumped-parameter model of the Hybrid III ATD was developed and validated. Simulations were performed with this model and a previously validated lumped-parameter model of the cadaver to explore relationships between peak force at the Hybrid III femur load cell and peak force at the cadaver hip over the range of knee-loading conditions that occur in FMVSS 208 and NCAP crash tests. Results of these simulations indicate that there is not a singular relationship between peak Hybrid III femur force and peak force at the cadaver hip or at the knee/distal femur.

Because of the complex relationship between femur force measured in the Hybrid III femur load cells and forces and injury risks in the human KTH, a new injury assessment criterion has been developed for the KTH that uses peak force and impulse calculated from force histories measured by the Hybrid III load cell to determine if the probability of KTH injury exceeds a specified value. The use of impulse allows the new injury assessment criterion to identify the high-rate, short duration loading conditions that are likely to produce knee/distal femur fractures and the slower loading rates and longer durations that are more likely to produce hip fracture/dislocation.

Links

URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv21/09-0306.pdf

Cited Works (14)

Year	Entry
2009	Chang C-Y. Prediction of the Effects of Lower-Extremity Muscle Forces on Knee, Thigh, and Hip Injuries in Frontal Motor Vehicle Crashes [PhD thesis]. University of Michigan; 2009.
2009	Kirk K, Kuppa S. Application and evaluation of a novel KTH injury criterion for the Hybrid III dummy in frontal crash test environments. In: Proceedings of the 21st International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 15-18, 2009; Stuttgart, Germany.
2006	Rupp JD. Biomechanics of Hip Injuries in Frontal Motor-Vehicle Crashes [PhD thesis]. University of Michigan; 2006.
2001	Kuppa S, Wang J, Haffner M, Eppinger R. Lower extremity injuries and associated injury criteria. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 4-7, 2001; Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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2003	Masson C, Cavallero C. Comparison between Hybrid III dummy and cadaver knee response in frontal impact. In: Proceedings of the 2003 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 25, 2003; Lisbon, Portugal.
1980	Viano DC, Stalnaker RL. Mechanisms of femoral fracture. J Biomech. 1980;13(8):701-715.
2008	Chang C-Y, Rupp JD, Kikuchi N, Schneider LW. Development of a finite element model to study the effects of muscle forces on knee-thigh-hip injuries in frontal crashes. Stapp Car Crash J. 2008;52:475-504. SAE 2008-22-0018.
2002	Read KM, Burgess AR, Dischinger PC, Kufera JA, Kerns TJ, Ho SM, Burch C. Psychosocial and physical factors associated with lower extremity injury. In: 46th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 30–October 2, 2002; Tempe, AZ.
2003	Rupp JD, Reed MP, Madura NH, Schneider LW. Comparison of knee/femur force-deflection response of the THOR, Hybrid III, and human cadaver to dynamic frontal-impact knee loading. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 19-22, 2003; Nagoya, Japan.
2003	Kuppa S, Fessahaie O. An overview of knee-thigh-hip injuries in frontal crashes in the United States. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 19-22, 2003; Nagoya, Japan.
2008	Rupp JD, Miller CS, Reed MP, Madura NH, Klinich KD, Schneider LW. Characterization of knee-thigh-hip response in frontal impacts using biomechanical testing and computational simulations. Stapp Car Crash J. 2008;52:421-474. SAE 2008-22-0017.
2003	Rupp JD, Reed MP, Jeffreys TA, Schneider LW. Effects of hip posture on the frontal impact tolerance of the human hip joint. Stapp Car Crash J. 2003;47:21-33. SAE 2003-22-0002.
2005	Rupp JD, Reed MP, Madura NH, Miller CS, Kuppa S, Schneider LW. Comparison of the inertial response of the THOR-NT, Hybrid III, and unembalmed cadaver to simulated knee-to-knee-bolster impacts. In: Proceedings of the 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 6-9, 2005; Washington, DC.

Cited By (4)

Year	Entry
2015	Rupp JD. Knee, thigh, and hip injury biomechanics. In: Yoganandan N, Nahum AM, Melvin JW, eds. Accidental Injury: Biomechanics and Prevention. 3rd ed. New York: Springer; 2015:471-497.
2024	Carpenter RL, Berthelson PR, Donlon J-P, Forman JL. Comparison of the knee-thigh-hip response in small female ATDs with female PMHS. In: Proceedings of the 2024 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 11-13, 2024; Stockholm, Sweden.243-273.
2022	Carpenter R, Forman J. Evaluation of small female knee-thigh-hip response in frontal collisions. In: Proceedings of the 17th Ohio State University Injury Biomechanics Symposium. May 23-24, 2022; Columbus, OH.
2020	Salem M. Investigation of Pelvic Bone Fracture Mechanism and Simulated Treatment [PhD thesis]. Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta; 2020.