A Neck Injury Assessment Tool

The overall objective of the proposed project is to develop new injury criteria, model based risk assessment methodology, and a software tool to assess neck injury risk from head supported mass (HSM) loading. Based on the foundation of Phase I feasibility studies, the proposed Phase II work will focus on model enhancement, extension and validation, risk assessment, and software integration and testing. Specific technical objectives of Phase II include 1) development of anthropometry scaling methodology for the 50th percentile male and female neck models, 2) development of new injury criteria of discs and muscles for long-exposure loading based on predicted disc damage and muscle fatigue, 3) prediction of injury severity and probability (in accordance to AR-40-10) for different HSM loading levels and task scenarios, including stationary posture maintenance, marching, running, jumping, diving to prone, vehicle riding, repeated shocks, etc., 4) Integration of a risk assessment software tool with an intuitive GUI allowing user inputs of load exposure schedule and adjustment of HSM position and inertia properties. The final software can be utilized by military R&D engineers and acquisition professionals to evaluate HSM products and recommend less hazardous designs and usage scenarios.