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Increases in upper extremity injuries as a result of air bag deployment have spurred research on upper extremity response kinematics. During airbag deployment, forearm angular rates can exceed 150 rad/sec, requiring a sensor scheme that demonstrates durability for repeated use, high frequency response to capture the dynamic event, and small mass to minimize artifacts due to inertial effects. In this study an instrumentation scheme for the measurement of cadaveric elbow flexion and elbow pronation resulting from airbag deployment is developed. The instrumentation scheme involves mounting a three-axis magnetohydrodynamic angular rate sensor (MHD ARS) on the humerus, a single axis MHD ARS on the ulna and a single axis MHD ARS on the radius. Elbow flexion validation was performed with a Hybrid III instrumented arm and yielded an error in peak flexion angle of 6.5 ± 3.3 % and error in flexion rate of 6.3 ± 4.8 %.

The anatomical dimensions, inertial properties, and mechanical responses of cadaver leg, foot, and ankle specimens were evaluated relative to those of human volunteers and current anthropometric test devices. Dummy designs tested included the Hybrid III, Hybrid III with soft joint stops, ALEX I, and the GM/FTSS lower limbs. Static and dynamic tests of the leg, foot, and ankle were conducted at the laboratories of the Renault Biomedical Research Department and the University of Virginia. The inertial and geometric properties of the dummy lower limbs were measured and compared with cadaver properties and published volunteer values. Compression tests of the leg were performed using static and dynamic loading to determine compliance of the foot and ankle. Quasi-static rotational properties for dorsiflexion and inversion/eversion motion were obtained for the dummy, cadaver, and volunteer joints of the hindfoot.