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Effect of cervical spine alignment on neck injury risk during rear-end impact – numerical study using neck finite element model

2017; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 22; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13588265.2017.1278638

1754-2111

Jonas A. PRAMUDITA, Shunsuke Kikuchi, Izumi Minato, Yuji TANABE,

Spinal Fractures and Fixation Techniques

Many neck safety technologies have been developed in recent years; however, the incidence of whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) in rear-end collision accidents remains high. A lack of consideration of individual differences among vehicle occupants is considered a major factor. Individual differences in the neck can be represented by the differences in cervical spine alignment. In this study, images of typical cervical spine alignments, such as lordotic, straight, kyphotic, s-shaped, and inverse s-shaped alignments, were selected from a hospital database. Shape transformations of a head–neck finite element model were then performed to obtain multiple head–neck finite element models with five different cervical spine alignments. Rear-end impact analysis results showed quantitative differences in relative intervertebral rotation and ligament strain. These differences might be the cause of variability in the neck injury risk and severity among occupants in rear-end impact accidents.