Elderly human thoracic FE model development and validation

Blunt impact to the anterior chest during frontal crash often causes sternum and rib fractures. In particular, several studies have reported that elderly people are susceptible to the complications following bony fractures mainly in the thoracic region, thereby, leading to high mortality and morbidity rates. These fractures are attributable to the reduced bone strength due to age-related osteoporosis. In this study, the authors developed a human thoracic FE model of the elderly occupant based on the 50 percentile male model, THUMS (Total HUman Model for Safety) and the dynamic chest responses were validated during compression against experimental test data using postmortem human subject (PMHS) specimens under realistic loading conditions that would be experienced by vehicular occupants restrained by an air bag and a seat belt.