Technical Paper
Development of an Articulating Mandible Headform Having Force Sensing Temporomandibular Joints
2010-04-12
2010-01-0136
Current state of the art in Anthropometric Test Device (ATD) headform development does not include biofidelity of the mandible and the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). In order to investigate the protective aspects of mouth guards in relation to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) potential, a headform with an articulating mandible has been developed. The headform is based upon the 50% male Hybrid III and has a steel mandible with steel upper and lower dentition and a compliant TMJ structure. The headform may be instrumented with tri-axial C.G. accelerometers, and includes tri-axial force sensors at both left and right TMJ's as well as the upper dentition. Mandible force and displacement response under direct chin impact has been validated against cadaver corridors developed recently at Wayne State University.
