title: The tolerance of the human body to automobile collision impact - a systematic review of injury biomechanics research, 1990-2009.
abstract: Road traffic injuries account for 1.3 million deaths per year world-wide. Mitigating both fatalities and injuries requires a detailed understanding of the tolerance of the human body to external load. To identify research priorities, it is necessary to periodically compare trends in injury tolerance research to the characteristics of injuries occurring in the field. This study sought to perform a systematic review on the last twenty years of experimental injury tolerance research, and to evaluate those results relative to available epidemiologic data. Four hundred and eight experimental injury tolerance studies from 1990-2009 were identified from a reference index of over 68,000 papers. Examined variables included the body regions, ages, and genders studied; and the experimental models used. Most (20%) of the publications studied injury to the spine. There has also been a substantial volume of biomechanical research focused on upper and lower extremity injury, thoracic injury, and injury to the elderly - although these injury types still occur with regularity in the field. In contrast, information on pediatric injury and physiological injury (especially in the central nervous system) remains lacking. Given their frequency of injury in the field, future efforts should also include improving our understanding of tolerances and protection of vulnerable road users (e.g., motorcyclists, pedestrians).
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia Center for Applied Biomechanics, 4040 Lewis and Clark Dr., Charlottesville, VA 22911, USA. Electronic address: jlf3m@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Jason L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.affiliation: University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: fjlv@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Lopez-Valdes
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biomécanique et Mécanique des Chocs, IFSTTAR, Lyon, France. Electronic address: sonia.duprey@univ-lyon1.fr.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duprey
authors.affiliation: Global Road Safety Facility, World Bank Group, Washington D.C., USA. Electronic address: dipan.bose@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dipan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bose
authors.affiliation: Applus IDIADA Group, Spain. Electronic address: EduardoDelPozo.DeDios@idiada.com.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Del Pozo de Dios
authors.affiliation: LBM - Institut de Biomécanique Humaine Georges Charpak, Arts et Métiers ParisTech, Paris, France. Electronic address: Damien.SUBIT@ensam.eu.
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Subit
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia Center for Applied Biomechanics, 4040 Lewis and Clark Dr., Charlottesville, VA 22911, USA. Electronic address: tlg5a@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gillispie
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia Center for Applied Biomechanics, 4040 Lewis and Clark Dr., Charlottesville, VA 22911, USA. Electronic address: jrc2h@virginia.edu.
authors.forename: Jeff R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Crandall
authors.affiliation: Director General for Traffic, Ministry of Interior, Spain. Electronic address: mariaseguigomez@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Segui-Gomez
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001336:Automobiles; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012106:Research; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Automobiles; Biomechanics; Injuries; Prevention; Surveillance; Trauma