Overview

The IBRC has conducted a large body of work focused on the dynamic response and injury of the human thorax. Rib fractures in particular are a focus of our work as they occur from blunt force trauma and in a variety of settings, commonly including motor vehicle crashes. These injuries often result in increased morbidity and mortality rates across all portions of the population. Therefore, the broad goals of our thoracic research are to:

1) Identify biological sources and mechanisms for rib failure- how and why do these vary between individuals across the population?

2) Characterize thoracic response and quantify injury thresholds, also accounting for variation within the human population.

The main application of this research is translation of our findings to make improvements to anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) and computational occupant models, and subsequently either prevent or reduce the incidence of thoracic injuries.

Recent Publications & Presentations

Sources of Variability in Structural Bending Response of Pediatric and Adult Human Ribs in Dynamic Frontal Impacts

Amanda M. Agnew, Michelle M. Murach, Victoria M. Dominguez, Akshara Sreedhar, Elina Misicka, Angela Harden, John H. Bolte IV,
Yun-Seok Kang

Stapp Car Crash Journal (November 2018)

Application of Scaled Deflection Injury Criteria to Two Small, Fragile Females in Side Impact Motor Vehicle Crashes

Benjamin K. Shurtz, Amanda Agnew, Yun-Seok Kang, John H. Bolte IV

Conference Paper: WCX World Congress Experience (April 2018)

The Effect of Body Size on Adult Human Rib Structural Properties

Amanda Agnew, Michelle Murach, Elina Misicka, Kevin Moorhouse, John H. Bolte IV, Yun-Seok Kang

Conference Paper: International Research Council on the Biomechanics of Injury (Sept. 2017)

A Preliminary Exploration of Contribution of the Individual Rib to Dynamic Response of the Human Thorax

Michelle M. Murach, Yun-Seok Kang, Kevin Moorhouse, John H. Bolte IV, Amanda M. Agnew

13th Annual Injury Biomechanics Symposium (May 2017)