Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) were the leading cause of unintentional fatal injuries and the fourth leading cause of unintentional nonfatal injuries in the United States in 2007. Of these injuries, the thoracic injuries rank second in terms of frequency as well as overall economic cost. Of the thoracic injuries, rib fractures are extremely common;​ present in nearly 94% of severely injured belted occupants. Elderly occupants have increased mortality and morbidity associated with rib fractures. One factor that is thought to influence rib fracture that changes with age (possibly contributing to increased injury risk in the elderly population) is the rib cortical bone.

The first aspect of this research outlined novel techniques for estimating rib cortical bone thickness changes with age and sex from retrospective clinical computed tomography (CT) scan data. The thicknesses estimated using that technique were then compared by location within the ribcage and between the different ages and sexes. The second aspect of this research was to fit a regression curve to the cortex thickness estimations to characterize the exact cortical thickness changes with age at all of the different locations within the ribcage for both sexes. These results were also compared by location within the ribcage and between the different sexes.