DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD BIOMECHANIC DATA BASE

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM IS THE CREATION OF A CHILD INJURY DATA BASE FOR USE IN BIOMECHANICS RESEARCH. THE FOCUS OF THIS STUDY IS THE DEFINITION OF INJURIES OBSERVED IN YOUNG CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS WHILE RESTRAINED BY CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS. A SIX MONTH RETROSPECTIVE STUDY WAS PERFORMED TO CORRELATE INJURIES OF CHILD ACCIDENT VICTIMS, THE CHILD RESTRAINT DEVICE, THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INJURED CHILD, AND THE RESPECTIVE ACCIDENT PARTICULARS FROM ACCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN 1985 AND 1991 IN 13 WESTERN NEW YORK COUNTIES. THIS STUDY INCLUDED DATA FROM: THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES, ACCIDENT REPORTS FROM THE INVOLVED POLICE JURISDICTIONS, EMERGENCY MEDICAL PERSONNEL LOGS, HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM LOGS, HOSPITAL ADMISSION AND DISCHARGE REPORTS, AND FINALLY, INTERVIEWS WITH THE PARENTS OR GUARDIANS OF THE CHILDREN. THE RETROSPECTIVE STUDY WAS SUPPLEMENTED WITH IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATIONS OF RELEVANT ACCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED DURING THE PHASE I TIME FRAME. THE RESULTS WILL LEAD TO INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF CHILD IMPACT INJURY MECHANISMS, BETTER DEFINITION OF CHILD IMPACT TOLERANCE LEVELS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE EFFECTIVE CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS, CHILD SIZE TEST DUMMIES POSSESSING HIGHER LEVELS OF BIOFIDELITY, AND MORE REALISTIC PERFORMANCE EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR CHILD PROTECTION DEVICES.