David Nuckley, Ph.D.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Applied Biomechanics Laboratory
"The Role of Neck Muscles in Pediatric Head and Neck Mechanics"


ABSTRACT

Traumatic head and neck injury is the leading cause of death for children in the United States (15,000 each year) and permanently disables close to 150,000 more children annually.  These statistics persist in spite of advanced safety systems in cars and new safety gear and surfaces for sports and playgrounds.  Unfortunately, these interventions have been developed largely in the absence of child biomechanical data for both the head and neck.  We have, therefore, engaged in an effort to characterize and simulate head and neck biomechanics during maturation.  Throughout development, the allometric head-to-body relationship is significantly different than other growth patterns - the child's head size approaches 90% of its adult size by age 4 compared with the neck size which approaches 90% of its adult size at age 14.  We are in the process of characterizing the developmental growth trajectories of neck muscles in an effort to understand their role in head and neck mechanics and injury.  This effort includes human subject research, experimental cadaver studies, and finite element analyses.  Together we hope that these efforts will facilitate our prediction of child neck mechanics so that improved safety systems and emergency medical services can be developed.