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Pediatric Biomechanics

restraint.jpgPediatric biomechanics has been a focus of the CAB since the early 1990s, when the wide-spread introduction of airbags necessitated a new paradigm of knowledge regarding the injury tolerances and mechanisms of children, and an enhanced set of tools for the assessment of injury risk and the design of safety systems.

 

 Our research in this area ranges from the most fundamental studies of tissue development and mechanical behavior to the most applied assessments of child restraint and booster seat design and enhanced performance specifications for pediatric test dummies.

 

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shoulderbelt-behind.jpgWe have been particularly active in recent years studying restraint mis-use scenarios, such as placing the shoulder belt behind a child’s back, and developing guidelines to help parents with the transition from rear-facing to forward-facing to booster seats and finally to adult belts. We are also leading the way toward improved protection for child pedestrians through our research on the biomechanics of the interaction between vehicle structures and the developing human body.