Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, McLaren Regional Medical Center, Flint, Michigan.
Mechanical Engineering Department, Kettering University, Flint, Michigan.
Traffic Inj Prev. 2020;21(6):341-346. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2020.1755969. Epub 2020 May 13.
There is little data defining safe transport protocols for spica-casted children. A single earlier study demonstrated the presence of a body cast alters kinematics and injury metrics during simulated side-impact crashes. Since then, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed a new side-impact test protocol for evaluating child restraints. This test is more severe than the earlier tests, as it simulates an impact with a door intruding into the occupant space. As no currently available child restraint system (CRS) able to accommodate a spica-casted child has been evaluated using these updated testing criteria, the objective of this study was to evaluate current restraint options in simulated side-impact collisions using an anthropomorphic test device (ATD) modeled after a 3-year-old. Four commercially available CRSs able to accommodate a spica-casted Q3s side-impact ATD were selected for testing. Side-impact testing was performed using casted and uncasted ATDs in compliance with the NHTSA proposed side-impact test. High-speed photography and ATD instrumentation were used to measure selected injury criteria. HIC values were highest in CRSs with less robust side wings, such as the Merritt Wallenburg (HIC = 1,373), which allow for the occupant to interact with the intruding door panel. Head contact with the door panel was found to correspond with high resultant neck peak force. Pelvic acceleration magnitudes were greatest for the uncasted tests. Casted tests with a CRS that included an armrest were associated with greater torso rotation in the frontal plane with the left shoulder moving toward the door panel. The presence of a spica cast alters injury metrics in side-impact testing. Spica specific child safety seats are not yet optimized for side-impact with door intrusion. This is due to a lack of adequate side cushion wings, which may place both casted and uncasted occupants at increased likelihood for injury through head contact with an intruding door. Additional work is needed to improve the safety of CRSs for both casted and uncasted children in side-impact collisions.
针对石膏包裹的儿童，安全转运协议的数据很少。一项早期的研究表明，身体石膏会改变模拟侧面碰撞时的运动学和损伤指标。从那时起，美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）提出了一种新的侧面碰撞测试协议，用于评估儿童约束系统。与早期的测试相比，该测试更严格，因为它模拟了一扇门侵入乘客空间的碰撞。由于目前还没有能够容纳石膏包裹儿童的儿童约束系统（CRS）使用这些更新的测试标准进行评估，因此本研究的目的是使用模拟 3 岁儿童的人体模型测试设备（ATD）评估当前约束系统在模拟侧面碰撞中的选择。选择了四个能够容纳石膏包裹 Q3s 的 ATD 进行侧面碰撞测试。根据 NHTSA 提出的侧面碰撞测试标准，使用石膏包裹和未包裹的 ATD 进行侧面碰撞测试。高速摄影和 ATD 仪器用于测量选定的损伤标准。在侧翼相对脆弱的 CRS 中，HIC 值最高，例如 Merritt Wallenburg（HIC=1.373），允许乘客与侵入的车门面板相互作用。头部与车门面板的接触被发现与高颈峰值力相对应。未包裹的测试中骨盆加速度最大。在包含扶手的未包裹测试中，CRS 与躯干在正面平面上的更大旋转相关，左肩部向车门面板移动。石膏包裹会改变侧面碰撞测试中的损伤指标。特殊的石膏包裹儿童安全座椅还没有针对带有车门侵入的侧面碰撞进行优化。这是由于缺乏足够的侧翼缓冲垫，这可能会增加石膏包裹和未包裹的乘客头部与侵入的车门接触受伤的可能性。需要进一步的工作来提高侧面碰撞中石膏包裹和未包裹儿童的 CRS 的安全性。
