My colleagues and I have recently published a number of new journal articles on a range of topics.
Dr. Lauren Zaseck led this modeling study addressing the extent to which non-displaced rib fractures affect thoracic response. This issue arises in PMHS testing because many specimens available for biomechanics research have rib fractures due to ressusitation efforts. This modeling study suggests that a small number of rib fractures do not appreciably affect thoracic response.
Evaluating an intervention to improve belt fit for adult occupantsand
Evaluating an intervention to improve belt fit for adult occupants: promoting positive beliefs
Dr. Monica Jones led a study investigating whether an intervention could induce drivers to don their safety belts in a more effective way. Good safety belt fit includes the lap belt low and close to the pelvis, but our previous studies have shown that too often people place it high on the abdomen instead. This pair of papers in the Journal of Safety Reseach reports two aspects of the study, which demonstrated significant improvements following a video intervention, with most of the benefit acruing to those with the worst initial belt fit.
ShapeCoder: A new method for visual quantification of body mass index in young children
Dr. Daniel Park led the development of a visualization tool to help parents and clinicians estimate BMI in young children. This paper in Pediatric Obesity describes the tool and its validation. One version of the tool is available online.We have developed similar capability for modeling adult body shape.
