Modalities for Constructing 3-D Models of Head and Neck Anthropometry, Spinal Cord and Vertebral Structures of Infants to Adolescents – For Application to Crash Test Dummy Design

Current anthropometric data of pediatric head and neck are based on discrete linear measurements and limited primarily to 2D projections. Also available anthropometry identifies limited surface dimensions without regard for the neck segment as a dynamic structure. There has been recent focus on adult anthropometry for the development of the WorldSID, similarly representative data from pediatric populations is very limited. These 2D linear data have limited correlation to the morphologic dimensions of the internal structures of the spinal cord and vertebral column and do not include consideration of the changes in the head and neck morphology or dimensions which occur during movement from extension through neutral position to flexion. There are a number of modalities in use in the healthcare and related industries which could be applied to the determination of these anthropometric parameters and structural relationships. This paper describes three potential modalities to enable such information to be collected, and their relative benefits and limitations. The modalities include simple 2D linear measurement, 3-D infrared digitized surface scanning and 3-D Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The age groups of the subjects included ranged from infants to adolescents (4 weeks to 14 years). The three modalities demonstrated that a detailed digital 3-D reconstruction of the pediatric head and neck morphology can be performed based on child human volunteer subjects, and that Magnetic Resonance Imaging 3-D reconstruction was effective in relating the surface anthropometric form to the morphologic dimensions of the spinal cord and vertebral structures. These modalities can be applied to the development and design of crash test dummies and related computer models.