Predictive model of dynamic response of the human head/neck system to -Gx impact acceleration

This paper describes the mathematical framework, underlying an empirical model, that predicts human head response using only the motion present at vertebra T1. Based on this framework, a model for --Gx impact acceleration was developed from data obtained on six volunteer subjects participating in the NAMRL impact acceleration experiments. Model performance was evaluated by comparing the errors in the predicted head responses with the normal variations observed between the responses of different subjects under identical impact accelerations. Independent sets of data were used for building and testing the model. The results of the evaluation indicate that the model will be useful in subsequent studies of human response to impact acceleration.