3D Spatial Localization of Human Anatomic Injuries

Development of human body finite element models capable of predicting crash injuries has been hampered by the lack of injury data that is sufficiently precise and detailed. Even CIREN data, the most medically detailed crash injury data currently in existence, is insufficient for model development. We therefore developed a novel protocol to identify and measure precise 3-dimensional locations of rib fractures present in CT scans from the CIREN population of car crash occupants. This protocol was used to develop a database associating fractures in their spatial locations with rib framework curves that were defined for each ribcage using a semi-automatic image processing system. Results form this database include a heat map of fracture locations over a representative human rib cage. This heat map is presented from a series of different crash configurations, showing the precise trends in rib fracture locations and how they change with occupant position, crash direction and severity, and with the different restraint types used. Our new system captures the precise spatial location of injuries in a format that can be directly used to improve and verify the performance of human body finite element models.