Rotating convertible child restraint systems and their potential effect on correct use in rear-facing mode

Traffic Injury Prevention · 2025-12-04

OBJECTIVES: Field obervation of CRS use shows that a large portion (65% to 94%) of CRS are misused. In this study, we compared the field use of three different 5-point harness CRSs in rear-facing convertible mode: the first was a "rotating" car seat (RCRS), where the seat portion of the RCRS can be completely detached from the base and can be rotated to face the parent/caregiver during child ingress and egress. The other two CRSs were conventional convertibles (CRS1 and CRS2). We hypothesize that the RCRS has higher correct use rates on initial inspection compared to two other CRS designs in rear-facing mode. METHODS: The National Digital Car Seat Check Form (NDCF) is a data collection instrument used by certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians to record data on child restraint use and interventions during child passenger safety inspections throughout the United States. The NDCF database was searched for children using an RCRS, CRS1 or CRS2. Outcome variables were binary (1 = proper; 0 = improper) measures of common misuse parameters - correct harness use, correct recline angle, and correct lower attachment. Child age in whole years, state law, body mass, and vehicle type and age were considered as explanatory variables. RESULTS: 752 records were included in the dataset from inspections in 48 U.S. states. Compared to conventional car seats, children seated in an RCRS had 1.4 [95% CI: 1.0, 2.0] times greater adjusted odds of correct harness use when controlling for state law and vehicle type. RCRS children had 2.6 [95% CI: 1.8, 3.8] times greater odds of having the correct recline angle with a modest effect of vehicle age (aOR = 0.97 [95% CI: 0.944, 0.999]). RCRS children had 1.9 [95% CI: 1.3, 2.8] times greater odds of having a correct lower attachment to the vehicle. Outboard seating and LATCH were significant factors in proper CRS-to-vehicle lower attachment. CONCLUSIONS: Rear facing rotating-type convertible car seats increased overall proper use in a population that sought child passenger safety instruction from qualified technicians. More research is necessary to determine if these effects persist in the general population, in forward facing modes of use, and with other rotating car seat models.

An evaluation of front seat distance from rear facing child restraint systems in prevention of injury in frontal crash tests

Traffic Injury Prevention · 2024-09-26 · 3 citations

OBJECTIVES: impact between a rear-facing, CRS-restrained child and the back of the vehicle seat or console on the row in front of the CRS. Subsequently, experimental studies have suggested that bracing the CRS against the seat immediately in front of the CRS could mitigate head injury, but also indicated that more research was necessary. Thus, we investigated the effect of bracing against the front seat, as well as distance from the front seat with rear-facing infant carriers and rear-facing convertibles, with a focus on changes to measured head, neck and chest injury metrics in rear facing CRSs. Further, we examined the effect of using the infant carrier with and without a base on these injury metrics. METHODS: 34 frontal sled tests at 30 or 35 mph were conducted using a simulated rear-row vehicle seat and structure representing the front seatback. A Q1.5 anthropomorphic test device (ATD) was placed in a single make/model LATCH-affixed rear-facing convertible or single make/model infant carrier; infant carrier without base was affixed with lap and shoulder belt. To evaluate the effect of bracing and distance, tests were conducted with a 300, 140, 70, or 15 mm gap between the CRS seatback and the front seatback, or a touching (0 mm) or braced (-20 mm) condition. Bayesian regression models quantified the effects of various predictors and model uncertainty. RESULTS: For tests with the convertible CRS, no head contact was observed between the head and the front vehicle seatback. For the infant carrier, head contact occurred at both 70 and 140 mm distances but not the other distances. On average, the -20, 0, or 15 mm distances yielded a 60% reduction in head injury criterion with 15 millisecond window (HIC15), and a 60% to 80% reduction in neck tension, compared to the 70 and 140 mm distances; chest acceleration also decreased for the convertible seat only. In the case of both carriers and convertibles, each mm of distance the CRS moves away from the front seatback up to 70 mm, adds 5.3 HIC15 points (95% Credible Interval (CrI):[4.6, 6.2]), and 3.5 Newtons (95% CrI: [2.2, 4.8]) of neck tension, on average. CONCLUSIONS: Placing a rear facing CRS, both convertibles and infant carriers, against or close to the seatback of the seat immediately in front of the CRS reduces head and tensile neck injury criteria in ATDs. The amount of gap between the front seat and the rear facing CRS is strongly and positively correlated with HIC for both convertibles and infant carriers. RF infant carriers with and without a base yield comparable injury metrics and kinematics when touching or nearly touching the back of the front vehicle seatback.

Evaluation of a novel head and neck restraint for harness-restrained children

International Journal of Crashworthiness · 2024-09-11

Performance of a novel head neck support system in nearside and farside impacts

Traffic Injury Prevention · 2022-09-09 · 2 citations

"Performance of a novel head neck support system in nearside and farside impacts." Traffic Injury Prevention, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), pp. 1–2

Pediatric Medical Device Development Pathways

2021-04-30

For latest version: please go to https://academicentrepreneurship.pubpub.org/pub/j4qxydd5/release/4 The Pediatric Medical Device Safety and Improvement Act (PMDSIA) was passed in 2007 to increase the number of pediatric devices approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). PMDSIA also led to the introduction of the Pediatric Device Consortia grant program, which promotes institutions to pass new pediatric devices. In the past, people relied on nontraditional methods of gaining capital for medical device development. Since the act, pediatric devices have still lagged behind FDA-approved adult medical de­vices due to various clinical hurdles, including the small market size, which can result in a limited return on investment (ROI), a challenge for private investors.

Synthetic Muscle™ for Deep Space Travel and Other Applications on Earth and in Space

2021-09-23 · 1 citations

Fatal side impact crash scenarios for rear seat and seat belt–restrained occupants from vulnerable populations

Figshare · 2019-08-05

<b>Objective:</b> Previous studies have revealed vulnerability of school-age children and older adults in rear seats in motor vehicle crashes. Detailed information about crashes in which these fatalities occur could help improve vehicle and restraint design. <b>Methods:</b> Police accident reports were obtained for crashes from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System data set. Inclusion criteria were crashes in which there was at least one fatally injured restrained rear seat occupant between the ages of 6 and 12 or 55 and older in a passenger vehicle no older than 10 years at the time of the crash. Reports were reviewed for key crash data. Side impacts were selected for analysis. <b>Results:</b> Thirty-nine side impact crashes met the inclusion criteria, resulting in 46 fatalities of interest. Far-side or nondirect impact cases outnumbered near-side cases by 15–11 for juvenile occupants. Sixty-one percent of occupants were in vehicles with side airbags (SABs), all of which deployed for their position, although torso SABs were only present in 3 cases. Head injuries were present in all juvenile cases with injury data available and older occupants suffered equally from head and torso injuries. Impacts with pickup trucks and heavy trucks made up 31 and 22% of all cases, respectively. Three-quarters of cases were judged as survivable for the fatally injured occupant(s), and 5 of 7 cases deemed unsurvivable involved juvenile decedents. Further, of those deemed survivable, two-thirds had damage comparable in magnitude with the same vehicles in consumer information crash tests, evaluated by photo comparison. <b>Conclusions:</b> Older adults suffered thoracic injuries at a higher rate than older children—who suffered predominately head injuries—and most vehicles did not have torso SABs installed, which could have mitigated thoracic injuries. Side impacts in which younger occupants were killed were more severe than impacts that resulted in the death of an older occupant; however, vehicle damage and intrusion in many fatal impacts for both age cohorts appeared similar to that of consumer information testing. Large pickups and heavy vehicles were the striking vehicle in over half of all fatalities; vehicle designs and crash tests should continue to take this into consideration. This research highlights the need for continued work as the automotive safety community seeks to eliminate fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.

Fatal side impact crash scenarios for rear seat and seat belt–restrained occupants from vulnerable populations

Traffic Injury Prevention · 2019-08-05 · 4 citations

Objective: Previous studies have revealed vulnerability of school-age children and older adults in rear seats in motor vehicle crashes. Detailed information about crashes in which these fatalities occur could help improve vehicle and restraint design.Methods: Police accident reports were obtained for crashes from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System data set. Inclusion criteria were crashes in which there was at least one fatally injured restrained rear seat occupant between the ages of 6 and 12 or 55 and older in a passenger vehicle no older than 10 years at the time of the crash. Reports were reviewed for key crash data. Side impacts were selected for analysis.Results: Thirty-nine side impact crashes met the inclusion criteria, resulting in 46 fatalities of interest. Far-side or nondirect impact cases outnumbered near-side cases by 15–11 for juvenile occupants. Sixty-one percent of occupants were in vehicles with side airbags (SABs), all of which deployed for their position, although torso SABs were only present in 3 cases. Head injuries were present in all juvenile cases with injury data available and older occupants suffered equally from head and torso injuries. Impacts with pickup trucks and heavy trucks made up 31 and 22% of all cases, respectively. Three-quarters of cases were judged as survivable for the fatally injured occupant(s), and 5 of 7 cases deemed unsurvivable involved juvenile decedents. Further, of those deemed survivable, two-thirds had damage comparable in magnitude with the same vehicles in consumer information crash tests, evaluated by photo comparison.Conclusions: Older adults suffered thoracic injuries at a higher rate than older children—who suffered predominately head injuries—and most vehicles did not have torso SABs installed, which could have mitigated thoracic injuries. Side impacts in which younger occupants were killed were more severe than impacts that resulted in the death of an older occupant; however, vehicle damage and intrusion in many fatal impacts for both age cohorts appeared similar to that of consumer information testing. Large pickups and heavy vehicles were the striking vehicle in over half of all fatalities; vehicle designs and crash tests should continue to take this into consideration. This research highlights the need for continued work as the automotive safety community seeks to eliminate fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.

Factors contributing to serious and fatal injuries in belted rear seat occupants in frontal crashes

Traffic Injury Prevention · 2019-06-12 · 20 citations

Objectives: Earlier research has shown that the rear row is safer for occupants in crashes than the front row, but there is evidence that improvements in front seat occupant protection in more recent vehicle model years have reduced the safety advantage of the rear seat versus the front seat. The study objective was to identify factors that contribute to serious and fatal injuries in belted rear seat occupants in frontal crashes in newer model year vehicles.Methods: A case series review of belted rear seat occupants who were seriously injured or killed in frontal crashes was conducted. Occupants in frontal crashes were eligible for inclusion if they were 6 years old or older and belted in the rear of a 2000 or newer model year passenger vehicle within 10 model years of the crash year. Crashes were identified using the 2004–2015 National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) and included all eligible occupants with at least one Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 3 or greater injury. Using these same inclusion criteria but split into younger (6 to 12 years) and older (55+ years) cohorts, fatal crashes were identified in the 2014–2015 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and then local police jurisdictions were contacted for complete crash records.Results: Detailed case series review was completed for 117 rear seat occupants: 36 with Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 3+ injuries in NASS-CDS and 81 fatalities identified in FARS. More than half of the injured and killed rear occupants were more severely injured than front seat occupants in the same crash. Serious chest injury, primarily caused by seat belt loading, was present in 22 of the injured occupants and 17 of the 37 fatalities with documented injuries. Nine injured occupants and 18 fatalities sustained serious head injury, primarily from contact with the vehicle interior or severe intrusion. For fatal cases, 12 crashes were considered unsurvivable due to a complete loss of occupant space. For cases considered survivable, intrusion was not a large contributor to fatality.Discussion: Rear seat occupants sustained serious and fatal injuries due to belt loading in crashes in which front seat occupants survived, suggesting a discrepancy in restraint performance between the front and rear rows. Restraint strategies that reduce loading to the chest should be considered, but there may be potential tradeoffs with increased head excursion, particularly in the absence of rear seat airbags. Any new restraint designs should consider the unique needs of the rear seat environment.

Simulating blood pressure and end tidal CO2 in a CPR training manikin

Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine · 2019-08-03 · 3 citations