Thesis Defense: Dynamic Structural Properties of Human Ribs in Frontal Loading

Committee:

• John Bolte, IV (Anatomy/ME)
• Rebecca Dupaix (ME)
• Amanda Agnew

Abstract:

Thoracic injuries due to motor vehicle crashes carry high mortality rates, especially when they involve rib fractures. Despite differences in thoracic injury tolerance, however, injury criteria and tools used to develop safer vehicles are not currently age-dependent. These models have been primarily scaled down from middle-aged adult data, since pediatric and very elderly biomechanical properties have not been extensively studied. To address this, 184 human ribs from individuals aged 4 to 99 years old were tested dynamically in a fixture simulating a frontal impact to the thorax and structural properties were calculated. Results of this study will lead to improved injury criteria and models that will increase vehicle safety.