DEVELOPMENT OF TENSILE NECK INJURY CRITERIA FOR PEDIATRIC POPULACE

小儿脊髓损伤是一种毁灭性的创伤结果，具有终生衰弱的后果。每年仅在美国，就有超过1000名15岁以下的儿童遭受脊髓损伤；大约10%是致命的，而这些儿童中有41%患有不同程度的不可逆转的神经功能缺陷。这些损伤最常发生在颈椎区域（80%），与所有其他儿科损伤相比，导致AIS评分最高，死亡率最高，住院时间最长。许多这些损伤是由于安全气囊的部署施加到脊柱上的拉力造成的。很少有生物力学研究涉及这些与气囊有关的损伤；因此，我们目前的项目旨在确定小儿脊柱的颈部损伤标准。这个程序将确定尸体狒狒颈椎的抗拉强度。我们正在测试一个假设，即年轻的标本比成年标本的强度更小，但延展性更强。此外，我们将研究可能发生在不同年龄的损伤的失效模式和机制。因此，最终目标是获得颈椎拉伸失效特征的年龄尺度规律，以便将其应用于人类儿科人群的损伤预防策略。这个项目刚刚开始实施，已经产生了很好的效果。利用狒狒尸体的颈椎组织，我们开始获得验证测试假人和计算机模型的数据，开发损伤预防方案，以及更好的损伤管理和护理策略的演变。

Pediatric spinal cord injury is a devastating trauma outcome with life-long debilitating consequences. Each year in the United States alone, over 1000 children under the age of 15 incur spinal cord injuries; approximately 10% are fatal, while 41% of these children sustain varying degrees of irreversible neurological deficit. These injuries most often occur in the cervical region (80%) and, compared with all other pediatric injuries, result in the largest AIS scores, highest mortality, and longest hospital stays. Many of these injuries are a result of tensile forces applied to the spine from the deployment of air bags. Few biomechanics studies have addressed these air-bag-related injuries; therefore our current project is aimed at determining neck injury criteria for the pediatric spine. This program will determine the tensile strength of cadaver baboon cervical spines. We are testing the hypothesis that younger age specimens have less strength but more ductility characteristics than adult specimens. Also, we will examine the failure patterns and mechanisms of injury that might occur at different ages. Therefore, the ultimate goal is to obtain age scaling laws for cervical spine tensile failure characteristics so that they may be applied in injury prevention strategies for the human pediatric population. This project, which has just gotten under way, is already generating excellent results. Using cervical spine tissue from baboon cadavers, we are beginning to obtain data for the validation of test dummies and computer models, the development of injury prevention schemes, and the evolution of better injury management and care strategies.