Head/Neck Kinematic Response of Human Subjects in Low-Speed Rear-End Collisions

Limited data exist which quantify the kinematic response of the human head and cervical spine in low-speed rear-end automobile collisions. The objectives of this study were to quantify human head/neck kinematics and how they vary with vehicle speed change and gender during low-speed rear-end collisions. Forty-two human subjects (21 male, 21 female) were exposed to two rear-end vehicle-to-vehicle impacts (speed changes of 4 kmlh and 8 km/h). Accelerations and displacements of the head and torso were measured using 6 degree-of-freedom accelerometry and sagittal high speed video respectively. Velocity was calculated by integrating the accelerometer data. Kinematic data of the head and C7-T1 joint axis in the global reference frame, and head kinematic data relative to the C7-T1 joint axis are presented. A statistical comparison between peak amplitude and time-to-peak amplitude for thirty-one common peaks in the kinematic response was performed. Peak amplitudes and time-to-peak amplitude varied significantly with collision severity for most response peaks, and varied significantly with gender for about one quarter of the response peaks.