Human factors project: development of computer models of anatomy as an aid to risk management

Behavioral studies and reports in the pediatric medical literature suggest that children, particularly those younger than 4 years, frequently place foreign objects such as toys and small parts of consumer products in their mouths, nasal cavities and ear canals. These actions not infrequently lead to injury or death. Accurate models of the anatomical areas most often severely injured by foreign body impaction (oral cavity, orbit, ear canal and nasal passages) would greatly facilitate assessment of the risks of impaction. Because models of these anatomic regions in children of the ages when they are most at risk are not widely available, Intertek Testing Services, Risk Analysis and Management (ITS RAM), in association with faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center at Carnegie Mellon University, developed computerized models of these anatomical areas of interest in children at the critical stages of child development. Computer models were also developed of proposed or existing products and of objects represented in the ITS RAM Small Parts Aspiration and Ingestion Database (comprised of data from 17 children's hospitals) and fatality data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The computer models of products and computer anatomical models can be used to assess the possible hazards inherent in the product designs and to communicate the risks associated with product designs to manufacturers and marketing groups.