Citation

Zhang QH, Tan SH, Teo EC. Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Pt. H J. Eng. Med. 2008; 222(7): 1167-1174.

Affiliation

School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore 639798, Singapore. mecteo@ntu.edu.sg

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19024164

Abstract

A detailed, three-dimensional, head-neck (vertebral segments CO to C7) finite element model - developed and validated previously on the basis of the actual geometry of a cadaveric specimen - was used to evaluate the effect of cranial acceleration on the response of the cervical spine during low-speed, rear-end impact. Analyses were carried out to compare the predicted overall and segmental rotations, peak disc stresses, and capsular ligament strains of each motion segment during whiplash with or without cranial acceleration applied on the C7 inferior surface. The results show that, in the first 150 ms, the variation curves of predicted segmental rotational angles, disc stresses, and capsular strains for each motion segment overlapped well under the two conditions. However, after 150 ms, the capsular strains of C2 to C6 without cranial acceleration applied on C7 were all obviously lower than those with cranial acceleration applied, but the segmental rotational angles and disc stresses remain unaffected. It was implied that, although without cranial acceleration applied on C7, the relatively simple head-neck model could be used to reflect effectively the biomechanical response of the cervical spine during the initial stage (i.e. 150 ms) under low-speed, rear-end impact as well as the whole-human-body dummy model.

Language: en