Head injuries due to unrestrained objects during frontal collisions

Abstract

This paper evaluates the consequences of the impact of an unrestrained object against the head of vehicle occupant during a frontal crash by means of a computational head–neck biomechanical model. The correct positioning of head restraints can partially protect the rear side of the head, but there is still a significant probability of being injured. However, because head restraints are typically not properly adjusted as whiplash studies have shown, the probability of being impacted by an unrestrained object during a frontal crash is noticeably high and hence the risk of being injured is also high. In this work, head injury risk is evaluated through the Head Injury Criterion (HIC), by simulating a complete head–neck biomechanical model with realistic motion under frontal crash condition. The model developed includes all cervical vertebrae, intervertebral discs, ligaments and muscles. The model was validated against experimental data. Results have shown that the risk of severe head injury in frontal collision due to unrestrained objects cannot be neglected. The risk is directly related to the mass of the impact object, the relative velocity between the object and the head and the incorrect use of the head restraint.

Keywords:

• computational model
• unrestrained object
• head restraint
• HIC

Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Spanish Government through the SEGBUS project (TRA2004-01573) and the IMBUS project (FIT-370100-2006-30).