Injury mechanisms in the pediatric cervical spine during out-of-position airbag deployments

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Nightingale, Roger W.¹; Winkelstein, Beth A.¹; Van Ee, Chris A.¹; Myers, Barry S.¹

Injury mechanisms in the pediatric cervical spine during out-of-position airbag deployments

42nd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM)

©1998 AAAM

Affiliations

¹Duke University, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Durham, NC, USA
Abstract

The pediatric cervical spine differs considerably from the adult in both its geometry and its constitutive properties. Therefore, it is susceptible to a different set of injuries, some of which are particularly severe. Recent data from the NHTSA on cervical spine injuries in low speed out-of-position airbag deployments shows that the spectrum of injuries in children is different from that of the adult. Almost all of the children (98%) sustained head or cervical spine injuries, as compared to only 38% of the adults. In addition, the injuries in children were not gender dependent, while injuries in adults occurred in females 72% of the time. The specific loads which result in these injuries are still unclear; however, examination of the biomechanical data for the adult may yield some insights. This examination also points to the need for additional biomechanical testing in order to define tolerances for pediatric cervical spine injury.
Links

PubMedCentral: PMC3400195

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Cited By (16)

Year	Entry
2015	Nightingale RW, Myers BS, Yoganandan N. Neck injury biomechanics. In: Yoganandan N, Nahum AM, Melvin JW, eds. Accidental Injury: Biomechanics and Prevention. 3rd ed. New York: Springer; 2015:259-308.
2010	Schmitt K-U, Niederer PF, Muser MH, Walz F. Trauma Biomechanics: Accidental Injury in Traffic and Sports. 2nd ed. Deidelberg, Germany: Springer; 2010.
1999	Pintar FA, Yoganandan N, Gennarelli TA. Head and neck tension biomechanical models for pediatric and small female populations. In: 43rd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 20-21, 1999; Barcelon, Spain.357-366.
2008	Bass CRD, Crandall JR, Salzar RS, Rafaels K, Damon A, Lucas S. Reinterpreting the neck injury index (NII) using experimental cadaveric tests. In: Proceedings of the 2008 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 17-19, 2008; Bern, Switzerland.353-365.
2000	Van Ee CA, Nightingale RW, Camacho DLA, Chancey VC, Knaub KE, Sun EA, Myers BS. Tensile properties of the human muscular and ligamentous cervical spine. Stapp Car Crash J. 2000;44:85-102. SAE 2000-01-SC07.
2009	Dibb AT, Nightingale RW, Luck JF, Chancey VC, Fronheiser LE, Myers BS. Tension and combined tension-extension structural response and tolerance properties of the human male ligamentous cervical spine. J Biomech Eng. August 2009;131(8):081008.
2005	Ouyang J, Zhu Q, Zhao W, Xu Y, Chen W, Zhong S. Biomechanical assessment of the pediatric cervical spine under bending and tensile loading. Spine. December 15, 2005;30(24):E716-E723.
2010	Bass CR, Salzar RS, Lucas SR, Rafaels KA, Damon AM, Crandall JR. Re-evaluating the neck injury index (NII) using experimental PMHS tests. Traffic Inj Prev. 2010;11(2):194-201.
2013	Dibb AT, Cox CA, Nightingale RW, Luck JF, Cutcliffe HC, Myers BS, Arbogast KB, Seacrist T, Bass CR. Importance of muscle activations for biofidelic pediatric neck response in computational models. Traffic Inj Prev. November 22, 2013;14(suppl 1):S116-S127.
1999	Winkelstein BA. A Mechanical Basis for Whiplash Injury: The Cervical Facet Joint, Spinal Motion Segment, and Combined Loading [PhD thesis]. Duke University; 1999.
2000	Van Ee CA. Tensile Properties of the Human Muscular and Ligamentous Cervical Spine [PhD thesis]. Duke University; 2000.
2005	Chancey VC. Strength of the Human Neck: Understanding the Contributions of the Ligamentous and Muscular Spine in Tension and Bending [PhD thesis]. Duke University; 2005.
2011	Dibb AT. Pediatric Head and Neck Dynamic Response: A Computational Study [PhD thesis]. Duke University; 2011.
2012	Luck JF. The Biomechanics of the Perinatal, Neonatal and Pediatric Cervical Spine: Investigation of the Tensile, Bending and Viscoelastic Response [PhD thesis]. Durham, NC: Duke University; 2012.
2014	Newell R. Are Inversion, Posture, Motion and Muscle Effects Important to Spinal Alignment? [PhD thesis]. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia; April 2014.
2009	Parent DP. Scaling and Optimization of Thoracic Impact Response in Pediatric Subjects [Master's thesis]. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia; 2009.