Analysis of injury criteria to assess chest and abdominal injury risks in blunt and ballistic impacts.
BACKGROUND
The Viscous Criterion (VC) is an experimental measure developed by the automotive industry to assess injury risks for high-speed impacts. The Blunt Criterion (BC) is a prospective measure developed by the Department of Defense to predict injury from blunt projectiles.


METHODS
The range of applicability of BC was extended and compared with VC for its ability to assess injury risk using published cadaver and animal data. Department of Defense projectiles were 0.05 to 0.43 kg mass at velocities up to 86 m/s. VC data were generated from impacts with 1.75 to 23.4 kg at 3.6 to 10.2 m/s. Chest and abdominal injuries ranged from Abbreviated Injury Scale scores of 1 to 6.


RESULTS
Both criteria correlated very well with the experimental data, demonstrating correlation coefficients of R = 0.84 to 0.96. The correlation between VC and BC was R = 0.99. Logistic probability curves were derived to predict blunt impact injuries of Abbreviated Injury Scale scores of 1 to 6 for the chest and abdomen.


CONCLUSIONS
BC and VC are virtually identical in their ability to assess blunt and ballistic impact injury risks. They are different measures of impact energy absorbed by the body. One is predictive using input parameters, and the other measures the impact response of the body.
Sturdivan
Larry M
LM
LMS Scientific Models, 47 Estambre Road, Santa Fe, NM 87508-2152, USA. lmsscimod@aol.com
Viano
David C
DC
Champion
Howard R
HR
D015998:Abbreviated Injury Scale; D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000818:Animals; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004190:Disasters; D005107:Explosions; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011336:Probability; D012044:Regression Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013045:Species Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000453:epidemiology*