Impact biomechanics is the study of what happens to the human body after an impact, such as car accidents, falls, and sports injuries. This field combines engineering and medicine to develop better safety systems and treatment options for people involved in impact injuries. Anyone who travels by car or plays sports, among many other things, benefits directly from impact biomechanics research, and may never know it. For example, research in this field prompted a radical reworking of automobile dashboard designs to prevent injuries such as severe head trauma caused by protruding bumps in poorly positioned positions.
In this field, researchers can work with human cadavers and tissue simulants to see what happens to real body structures at the moment of impact. They also use dolls in research. Far from being "dummies", dummies actually provide a great deal of information and can be very communicative. They are packed with a variety of impact sensors and measuring instruments that record pressures and forces during impact. This data is sent to a computer program that can be used to analyze the test results.
The researchers want to understand the biomechanical processes behind impact injuries. These can include phenomena such as brain damage caused by movement of the brain within the skull or aortic tears caused by violent movements from side to side. They learn what happens inside the body when it is subjected to different types of impact stresses, including heavy blows, whiplash, and forces that might be encountered in plane crashes, car crashes, and bombings. Understanding the nature of such injuries provides a number of benefits.
The first is better medical treatment. When researchers understand the pathology behind impact injuries, they can offer advice to care providers to help them treat patients more effectively. Awareness of the biomechanics of impact, for example, explains why many emergency responders strap patients to backboards if there is any question about spinal trauma. This simple measure can save lives and reduce the severity of injuries by immediately stabilizing the spine.
Furthermore, understanding the biomechanics of impact may allow the design of better safety systems. This includes restraints, airbags, and protective gear. Systems that are clearly dangerous can also be configured in new ways to reduce the risk of injury. Rearranging items inside a car, for example, can drastically reduce the chances of fatalities in accidents. Requirements that car seats face the rear of a vehicle, for example, are based on impact biomechanics studies that show this is a safer position in the event of an accident.