Principal Investigator: Tom Seacrist, MBE, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Below is an executive summary of this project. Please note that this summary describes results and interpretation that may not be final. Final interpretation of results will be in the peer-reviewed literature.

The goal of this study was to compare the response of the Hybrid III 6- and 10-year-old anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) developed in the U.S., and the Q-Series 6- and 10-year-old ATDs developed in Europe to that of matched pediatric volunteers in low-speed frontal crashes. The researchers also compared the Hybrid III 5th Female ATD, approximately the size and weight of an average 12- to 13-year-old, to teenage volunteers.

Using previously collected low-speed, non-injurious frontal crash tests on 6- to 14-year-old volunteers, the researchers compared ATD responses in identical tests to matched volunteers. Photo-reflective targets were placed on the head, neck, spine, and pelvis and tracked using a 3D target tracking system. Seat belt and seating environment reaction loads were also measured. Results showed that when compared to the response of human volunteers, the ATDs significantly underestimated head, neck, spine, and pelvis forward excursion, overestimated shoulder and lap belt loads (particularly when examining the 6-year-old ATD response), and underestimated the force placed on the seat. These data provide useful information regarding the accuracy of the ATDs in low-speed crash conditions and will be used to help create more biofidelic pediatric ATDs for preventing injuries in low-speed crashes.

Co-investigators

Kristy Arbogast, PhD, Matthew R. Maltese, PhD, and J. Felipe Garcia-Espana, PhD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Student

Marina Samuels, Brigham Young University

IAB Mentors

Doug Longhitano, Honda R&D Americas Inc.; Dan Robertston, Toyota North America Inc.; Jerry Wang, Humanetics; Schuyler St. Lawrence, TK Holdings (Takata Corp.).