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Monitoring head accelerations as an indicator of possible brain injury may lead to faster identification of injury and treatments. This study investigates the skull-coupling of a tri-axial accelerometer mounted to a back molar and compares it with a tri-axial accelerometer inserted in the boney ear canal. These tri-axial accelerometers were mounted to three post mortem human surrogate (PMHS) skulls, and compared with a rigid, skull-mounted laboratory sensor reference cube. Each specimen was subjected to both a high-g loading from a vertical drop tower and a low frequency cyclic loading from a shaker device. The specimens were subjected to an approximate 150g input acceleration on the drop tower, and up to 10g at a frequency of 9Hz on the shaker device. Each specimen was tested on all three of the anatomical axes on both the drop tower and the cyclic shaker.

Late model passenger cars and light trucks incorporate occupant protection systems with airbags and knee restraints. Knee restraints have been designed principally to meet the unbelted portions of FMVSS 208 that require femur load limits of 10-kN to be met in barrier crashes up to 30 mph, +/- 30 degrees utilizing the 50% male Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD). In addition, knee restraints provide additional lower-torso restraint for belt-restrained occupants in higher-severity crashes. An analysis of frontal crashes in the University of Michigan Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (UM CIREN) database was performed to determine the influence of vehicle, crash and occupant parameters on knee, thigh, and hip injuries. The data sample consists of drivers and right front passengers involved in frontal crashes who sustained significant injuries (Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] ≥ 3 or two or more AIS ≥ 2) to any body region.