Citation

Teo EC, Zhang QH, Huang RC. Med. Eng. Phys. 2007; 29(1): 54-60.

Affiliation

School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Research Centre, College of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore. mecteo@ntu.edu.sg

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.medengphy.2006.01.007

PMID

16503183

Abstract

In this study, a detailed three-dimensional head-neck (C0-C7) finite element (FE) model developed previously based on the actual geometry of a human cadaver specimen was used. Five simulation analyses were performed to investigate the kinematic responses of the head-neck complex under rear-end, front, side, rear- and front-side impacts. Under rear-end and front impacts, it was predicted that the global and intervertebral rotations of the head-neck in the sagittal plane displayed nearly symmetric curvatures about the frontal plane. The primary sagittal rotational angles of the neck under direct front and rear-end impact conditions were higher than the primary frontal rotational angles under other side impact conditions. The analysis predicted early S-shaped and subsequent C-shaped curvatures of the head-neck complex in the sagittal plane under front and rear-end impact, and in the frontal plane under side impact. The head-neck complex flexed laterally in one direction with peak magnitude of larger than 22 degrees and a duration of about 130 ms before flexing in the opposite direction under both side and rear-side impact, compared to the corresponding values of about 15 degrees and 105 ms under front-side impact. The C0-C7 FE model has reasonably predicted the effects of impact direction in the primary sagittal and frontal segmental motion and curvatures of the head-neck complex under various impact conditions.

Language: en