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Significantly, more fatalities and serious injuries occur due to ejection in roll over accidents. The present study was conducted to determine the occupant retention and head-neck injury potential aspects of laminated glass in roll over accidents. The head injury and neck parameters were obtained from Hybrid III 50% male dummy test device impacting on various types of side windows with laminated glass. Results indicated that the glass contained the dummy assembly and the head neck biomechanical parameters were below the critical value injury tolerance limits in simulated rollover accidents.

Determination of human tolerance to injury is difficult because of the physical differences between humans and animals, dummies and cadaver tissue. Certain human volunteer testing has been done but at subinjurious levels [STAP 86] [EWIN 72] Considerable biomechanical engineering injury studies exist for the adult human cadaver however little is available for the pediatric population [SANC 99] [KLEI 98b]. Studies have been made of pediatric skull bone modulus, fetal tendon and early pediatric studies of the newborn during delivery, however, a paucity of information still exists in these areas. A number of dummies have recently been made available principally for airbag testing to bridge the gap between the 50 percentile Hybrid III male dummy and the 95 percentile male dummy.

Head injury is a serious threat to lives of people working around farm machinery. The consequence of head injuries are costly, paralytic, and often fatal. Clinical and biomechanical data on head injuries are reviewed and their application in the analysis of head injury risk associated with farm tractor discussed. A significant proportion of tractor-related injuries and deaths to adults, as well as children, is due directly or indirectly to head injury. An improved injury reporting program and biomechanical studies of human response to tractor rollover, runover, and falls, are needed to understand mechanisms of the associated head injury.

The objective of the study was to investigate the biomechanical response of the intact cranium. Unembalmed human cadavers were used in the study. The specimens were transected at the base of the skull leaving the intracranial contents intact; x-ray and computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained. They were fixed in a specially designed frame at the auditory meatus level and placed on the platform of an electrohydraulic testing device via a six-axis load cell. Following radiography, quasistatic loading to failure was applied to one of the following sites: frontal, vertex, parietal, temporal, or occipital. Retroreflective targets were placed in two mutually orthogonal planes to record the localized temporal kinematics. Applied load and piston displacement, and the output generalized force (and moment) histories were recorded using a modular digital data acquisition system. After the test, x-ray and CT images were obtained, and defleshing was done.

In the present investigation a tractor wheel runover accident was simulated to obtain biomechanical information relating to mechanism of injury. Twelve cadaver porcine specimens were runover with the right front wheel of a tractor. Specimens were placed on a six-axis force plate and thorax contours were recorded temporally. Results indicated up to 68% compression of the chest occurred during the runover event. The shear force in the direction of travel was a significant factor in the type of fractures that occurred to the rib cage. Pathology determined from x-ray revealed multiple fractures per rib in the area directly below the path of the tire. Autopsy evaluation revealed soft tissue contusion on the left side in the area of wheel path. There was often extra blood in the pericardial space and examination of the brain showed petechial hemorrhaging subdurally.

The patho-anatomic alterations due to vertical loading of the human cervical column were documented and correlated with biomechanical kinematic data. Seven fresh human cadaveric head-neck complexes were prepared, and six-axis load cells were placed at the proximal and distal ends of the specimens to document the gross biomechanical response. Retroreflective markers were placed on bony landmarks of vertebral bodies, articular facets, and spinous processes along the entire cervical column. Targets were also placed on the occiput and arch of C1. The localized movements of these markers were recorded using a video analyzer during the entire loading cycle. Pre-test two-dimensional, and three-dimensional computerized tomography (CT), and plane radiographs were taken. The specimens were loaded to failure using an electrohydraulic testing device at a rate of 2 mm/s.

In vitro biomechanical studies were conducted on fresh human cadaveric thoracolumbar spines to establish the limits of tolerance, explain the mechanism of failure, and investigate the effects of improvement in strength and stability of the injured column using Harrington distraction rods, Luque rods and modified Weiss springs. Quasistatic axial tensile loading on ligaments, compressive loads on vertebra) bodies and intervertebral discs, and flexure and compression-flexion force vectors on ligamentous columns, intact torsos and injured spines were applied to delineate the biomechanical and functional patho-anatomic characteristics. Vertical drop tests were conducted with the Hybrid II manikin to predict the forces and accelerations on the vertebral column.