title: Advanced accident research system based on a medical and engineering data in the metropolitan area of Florence.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the metropolitan area of Florence, 62% of major traumas involve powered two wheeler rider and pillion passengers, 10% cyclists, and 7% pedestrians. The urban and extra-urban areas are the most dangerous for the vulnerable road user. In-depth investigations are needed for assessing detailed information on road accidents. This type of study has been very limited in time frame in Italy, and completely absent in the Tuscan region.Consequently a study called "In-depth Study of road Accident in FlorencE" (In-SAFE) has been initiated.
  
  
  METHODS
  A network between the Department of Mechanics and Industrial Technologies (University of Florence) and the Intensive Care Unit of the Emergency Department (Careggi Teaching Hospital, Florence) was created with the aim of collecting information about the road accidents. The data collected includes: on-scene data, data coming from examination of the vehicles, kinematics and dynamic crash data, injuries, treatment, and injury mechanisms. Each injury is codified thorough the AIS score, localized by a three-dimensional human body model based on computer tomography slices, and the main scores are calculated. We then associate each injury with its cause and crash technical parameters. Finally, all the information is collected in the In-SAFE database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patient mean age at the time of the accident was 34.6 years, and 80% were males. The ISS mean is 24.2 (SD 8.7) and the NISS mean is 33.6 (SD 10.5). The main road accident configurations are the "car-to-PTW" (25%) and "pedestrian run over" (17,9%). For the former, the main collision configuration is "head-on crash" (57%). Cyclists and PTW riders-and-pillions-passengers suffer serious injuries (AIS3+) mainly to the head and the thorax. The head (56.4%) and the lower extremities (12.7%) are the most frequently injured pedestrian body regions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The aim of the project is to create an in-depth road accident study with special focus on the correlation between technical parameters and injuries. An in-depth investigation team was setup and is currently active in the metropolitan area of Florence.Twenty-eight serious road accidents involving twenty-nine ICU patients are studied. PTW users, cyclist and pedestrians are the most frequently involved in metropolitan accidents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanics and Industrial Technology, University of Florence, and Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit of Emergency Department, Careggi Teaching Hospital, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piantini
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mangini
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pierini
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zagli
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Spina
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peris
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D018986:Motor Vehicles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014505:Urban Population; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult