The biofidelity of pediatric ATDs continues to be evaluated with scaled-down adult data, a methodology that requires inaccurate assumptions about the likeness of biomechanical properties of children and adults. Recently, evaluation of pediatric ATDs by comparison of pediatric volunteer (PV) data has been shown to be a valuable and practical alternative to the use of scaled adult data. This study utilized existing PV data to evaluate a 3 year-old side impact ATD, the Q3s. While ATDs have been compared to volunteer responses in frontal impacts, this study is the first to extend ATD-PV comparison methods to the Q3s ATD, and among the first to extend these methods to side impacts.

Previously conducted experiments were replicated in order to make a direct comparison between the Q3s and PVs. PV data were used from 4-7 year-olds (shoulder tests, n=14) and 6-8 year-olds (sled tests, n=7). Force-deflection data were captured during quasi-static shoulder tests through manual displacement of the shoulder joint. Resulting shoulder stiffness was compared between the Q3s and PVs. Low-speed far-side sled tests were conducted with the Q3s at lateral (90°) and oblique (60°) impacts. Primary outcomes of interest included 1) lateral displacement of the torso, 2) torso rollout angle, and 3) kinematic trajectories of the head and neck.

The Q3s exhibited shoulder stiffness values at least 32 N/mm greater than the PVs for all conditions. In low-speed sled tests, overall the Q3s and PV trajectories were of similar shape, although Q3s head kinematics displayed rigid body motion followed by independent lateral bending of the head, suggesting cervical and thoracic spine rigidity compared to PVs. This study provides a dataset comparing the biomechanical responses for the Q3s ATD and pediatric volunteers at low severity impacts. Even at low severity impacts, we can identify biomechanical response differences between children and the Q3s which can contribute to design improvements leading to more biofidelic pediatric ATDs.