Facial Fracture Injury Criteria from Night Vision Goggle Impact

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Trauma research
• Military medicine

Background:

• Military personnel frequently use night vision goggles (NVGs).
• NVG use can increase injury risk from falls or accidents.
• Biomechanical risk assessments are needed for NVG design and safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess injury risks associated with NVG impacts on cadaver heads.
• To develop injury risk functions for facial fracture, neurotrauma, and neck injury.
• To inform the design of safer NVGs and mitigation strategies.

Main Methods:

• Cadaver head impacts using PVS-14 NVG modeled impactors.
• Impacts applied to zygoma and maxilla at 20° and 40° angles.
• Acoustic sensors, accelerometers, and survival analyses used to develop injury risk functions.

Main Results:

• Impact angle and bone geometry significantly affect injury characteristics.
• Quantified facial fracture probabilities using survival analysis and risk functions.
• Determined forces corresponding to 50% risk of facial bone fracture at various impact sites and angles.

Conclusions:

• Smaller impact areas and higher angles increase facial fracture risk.
• Neck injuries are less likely to occur before facial or neurotrauma.
• A potential trade-off exists between fracture risk and brain injury severity.