In a frontal collision, often the kinematics are such that vehicle occupants contact interior components causing fractures of the frontal bone and the pcriorbital region. Few studies of impact to cadaver supraorbital rims resulting in frontal bone/facial fractures discuss tolerance levels, the relationship between force data and anatomical consequences in human tissue.

In this study, twenty frozen human cadaver heads, ages ranging from 59 to 101, were sectioned from the body at various levels between the fifth cervical vertebra and the foramen magnum. Once thawed, they were impacted in order to induce fractures that are consistent with those seen in a clinical setting. Specific impact targets were the areas of the supraorbital rims, frontal sinuses, and junctions with the nasal and ethmoid bones. An impact cart was propelled to a mean velocity of 7.16 m/s (σ = 0.55 m/s) to strike the supraorbital portion of the unrestrained head. The cart was fitted with a 4.13-cm diameter impacting pipe instrumented with a force transducer coupled with a signal analyzer in order to record force-time behavior during impact.

Testing was recorded on standard VHS video and analyses were made on data from palpation, photography, CT Scans (computed tomography), and selected anthropometric measurements. These data are discussed as they relate to the force recorded during impact. Average peak force values and calculated absorbed energies are presented and discussed as they pertain to impact response of the frontal bone/facial skeleton.

The presence of skeletal injury to the cranium and face is better indicated by the energy absorption value rather than the tolerance level. It was also noted that severe to critical injury will almost always result from the type of impact defined in this paper.