Biomechanics of the toddler head during low-height falls: an anthropomorphic dummy analysis.
نویسندگان
چکیده
OBJECT Falls are the most common environmental setting for closed head injuries in children between 2 and 4 years of age. The authors previously found that toddlers had fewer skull fractures and scalp/facial soft-tissue injuries, and more frequent altered mental status than infants for the same low-height falls (<or=3 ft). METHODS To identify potential age-dependent mechanical load factors that may be responsible for these clinical findings, the authors created an instrumented dummy representing an 18-month-old child using published toddler anthropometry and mechanical properties of the skull and neck, and they measured peak angular acceleration during low-height falls (1, 2, and 3 ft) onto carpet pad and concrete. They compared these results from occiput-first impacts to previously obtained values measured in a 6-week-old infant dummy. RESULTS Peak angular acceleration of the toddler dummy head was largest in the sagittal and horizontal directions and increased significantly (around 2-fold) with fall height between 1 and 2 ft. Impacts onto concrete produced larger peak angular accelerations and smaller impact durations than those onto carpet pad. When compared with previously measured infant drops, toddler head accelerations were more than double those of the infant from the same height onto the same surface, likely contributing to the higher incidence of loss of consciousness reported in toddlers. Furthermore, the toddler impact forces were larger than those in the infant, but because of the thicker toddler skull, the risk of skull fracture from low-height falls is likely lower in toddlers compared with infants. CONCLUSIONS If similar fracture limits and brain tissue injury thresholds between infants and toddlers are assumed, it is expected that for impact events, the toddler is likely less vulnerable to skull fracture but more vulnerable to neurological impairment compared with the infant.
منابع مشابه
Biomechanics of the Toddler Head During Low-height Falls: An Anthropomorphic Dummy Analysis Laboratory Investigation
متن کامل
Biomechanics of Toddler Head During Low-height Falls: An Anthorpomorphic Dummy Analysis
Object. Falls are the most common environmental setting for closed head injuries in children between 2 and 4 years of age. The authors previously found that toddlers had fewer skull fractures and scalp/facial soft-tissue injuries, and more frequent altered mental status than infants for the same low-height falls (≤ 3 ft). Methods. To identify potential age-dependent mechanical load factors that...
متن کاملPotential for Head Injuries in Infants From Low-Height Falls Laboratory Investigation
Object. Falls are the most common accident scenario in young children as well as the most common history provided in child abuse cases. Understanding the biomechanics of falls provides clinicians with objective data to aid in their diagnosis of accidental or inflicted trauma. The objective of this study was to determine impact forces and angular accelerations associated with low-height falls in...
متن کاملPotential for head injuries in infants from low-height falls.
OBJECT Falls are the most common accident scenario in young children as well as the most common history provided in child abuse cases. Understanding the biomechanics of falls provides clinicians with objective data to aid in their diagnosis of accidental or inflicted trauma. The objective of this study was to determine impact forces and angular accelerations associated with low-height falls in ...
متن کاملUsing test dummy experiments to investigate pediatric injury risk in simulated short-distance falls.
BACKGROUND Short-distance falls, such as from a bed, are often falsely reported scenarios in child abuse. In attempting to differentiate between abusive and nonabusive injury, knowledge of factors that affect injury risk in falls could prove useful. OBJECTIVES To assess the biomechanics associated with simulated short-distance falls in children (one fall scenario, without attempting to maximi...
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ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Journal of neurosurgery. Pediatrics
دوره 6 1 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2010