Upper extremity Injuries have not decreased to the same extent as overall injury reduction in car crashes and may result in long-term consequences. There are few tools and methods to evaluate injuries to forearm and hand/wrist. The objective of this study was to develop a method, including a novel instrumented forearm, capable of capturing possible hand and forearm injuries caused by hand impacts to vehicle interiors in frontal impacts. A Hybrid III forearm was modified to measure moment in the wrist, along with a force transducer in the middle section of the forearm. It was launched by an ejector as a free moving object.

A parametric study was performed using a generic board as an impact surface, in addition to a series of tests performed impacting a vehicle instrument panel. Thirty-one different configurations were included in the parametric study, varying stiffness, friction, impact angle and hand position. The test method was shown to be repeatable, as well as sensitive to distinguishing differences between the configurations, with potential to provide input to vehicle design. Impact surface stiffness was found to have the largest influence on the kinetic response of the arm, followed by a combination of friction and impact angle. Impacts with the hand in the flexion resulted in lower forearm forces and wrist moments compared to when in extension.