Physical effects of ejection on the head-neck complex: demonstration of a cadaver model. Aviat Space Environ Med 2009 May;80(5):489-94
Date
05/22/2009Pubmed ID
19456013DOI
10.3357/asem.2422.2009Scopus ID
2-s2.0-66949168224 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 16 CitationsAbstract
Vertebral fracture is the most common severe injury during high-speed pilot ejection. However, the loading paradigm experienced by pilots may also lead to soft-tissue spinal injuries that are more difficult to quantify and can lead to long-term deficits. This manuscript describes a new experimental protocol to simulate the effects of pilot ejection on the tissues of the head-neck complex. The model permits precise control of head-neck complex initial positioning, detailed analysis of head and spinal kinematics and upper and lower neck loads, and the ability to thoroughly investigate and identify soft-tissue injuries through upper and lower neck injury criteria, radiography, manual palpation, and cryomicrotomy. For the current test, peak acceleration of +14.8 Gz was similar to actual ejection events and duration of the acceleration pulse was approximately 100 ms. The specimen was oriented in flexion prior to initiation of inferior-to-superiorly directed acceleration. Subfailure ligamentum flavum injuries were sustained at the C4-C5 and C5-C6 cervical spinal levels and identified by increased segmental motions during the simulated ejection, increased laxity following testing, and cryomicrotomy. Upper and lower neck injury criteria did not predict these soft-tissue injuries. This experimental model can be used for detailed analysis of the effects of gender, head-neck orientation, helmet instrumentation, and acceleration pulse characteristics on cervical spine injury potential during pilot ejection events.
Author List
Stemper BD, Yoganandan N, Pintar FA, Shender BS, Paskoff GRAuthors
Frank A. Pintar PhD Chair, Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Medical College of WisconsinBrian Stemper PhD Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Narayan Yoganandan PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAerospace Medicine
Aircraft
Biomechanical Phenomena
Cadaver
Cervical Vertebrae
Female
Humans
Neck Injuries
Spinal Cord Compression
