Thoracic impact testing of pediatric cadaveric subjects
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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

A Test Bed to Examine Helmet Fit and Retention and Biomechanical Measures of Head and Neck Injury in Simulated Impact
Published on: September 21, 2017
Jun Ouyang1, Weidong Zhao, Yongqing Xu
1Department of Anatomy, Southern Medical University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Biomechanics, Guangzhou, China. jouyang@fimmu.com
Background:
This study aimed to describe the injury mechanism of children's thorax in frontal impact and provide an injury threshold.
Methods:
Nine unembalmed cadavers were divided into two groups. A young cohort aged 2 to 4 years (four cadavers) was impacted by a 2.5-kg mass impactor, whereas the older cohort, aged 5-12 years (five cadavers), was impacted by a 3.5-kg mass impactor.
Results:
The mean values of peak sternal viscous criterion and accelerations for the older group and younger group were 1.35 +/- 0.62 m/s, 81.5 +/- 29.2 g and 2.05 +/- 0.5 m/s, 65 +/- 20.1 g, respectively. The maximum forces in the older group (1138 +/- 271.7 N) were significantly higher than those in younger group (776.3 +/- 39 N). In seven specimens, injuries after the impact were found.
Conclusions:
The full set of cadaveric injuries did not correlate with peak chest deformation, sternal viscous criterion, or peak fourth thoracic vertebra acceleration. However, cadaver thoracic injury showed a strong dependence on dissipated energy to peak deformation.
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