This study describes progress in developing full body CAD data of the 50th percentile male. The data will ultimately be used as the foundation of a new full body FEA model currently in development throughout the injury biomechanics community. Current development efforts are focused on the seated occupant model. A range of imaging and data collection tools were used to compile a large dataset for this modeling effort. A male volunteer (26 y, 78.6 kg, 174.9 cm) was selected to be enrolled in the study after careful screening. The volunteer met strict inclusion criteria based on height, weight, body length segments, and medical history. The volunteer was prospectively scanned and image data was collected in both supine and seated postures.

Progress in the CAD development of the model is presented. We have adopted a number of unique approaches in the development of this geometrical data. These approaches were made possible by the data collection protocol. The data collected include:​ MRI in the supine and upright postures, CT in the supine and approximately seated postures, landmark data at externally palpable locations, and external body contours collected via a 7-axis digitizer. Upright MRI image data, in conjunction with the digitized external bony landmark locations allowed for accurate reconstruction of the skeletal geometry. For modeling internal organs of the thorax and abdomen, a compartmentalization approach was adopted. In this approach, body regions such as the mediastinum and abdominal cavity (including peritoneal and retroperitoneal spaces) were separately segmented in the upright MRI scan data. These spaces provided a framework in which organ segmentations from higher-resolution supine scans could be placed, thereby utilizing the strengths of both imaging modalities. While the individual enrolled in the study will be used as the foundation of the model, some deviations from the segmented scan data were necessary to achieve agreement with published literature where larger samples sizes were studied.

The most recent developments in applying the above approach to CAD development are presented. The model currently shows good agreement with the published literature where comparisons have been conducted.