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Biomechanical Forensics in Pediatric Head Trauma

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Handbook of Human Motion

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Abstract

Biomechanics is an essential partner with forensic medicine in the estimation of head trauma etiology. Biomechanics is used in forensic investigations typically to estimate the forces applied to the body and the resulting deformations of hard and soft tissues. By integrating animal, tissue, and cellular responses with tissue stiffness measurements, tolerable load limits can be established, and computational biomechanical models are used to simulate real-world events and estimate how and why injuries might occur. Concepts of biomechanics are reviewed, and summaries of current knowledge regarding the biomechanical injury mechanism of pediatric brain, skull, cerebral vasculature, and retina are presented. Strengths and weaknesses of animal experiments and computational models are discussed, and key recommendations for future studies articulated.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Brittany Coats

  2. Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Susan Margulies

Authors
  1. Brittany Coats
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  2. Susan Margulies
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brittany Coats .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Motion & More, Barcelona, Spain

    Bertram Müller

  2. Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgi, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Sebastian I. Wolf

  3. Institut for Biomechanics und Orthopedic, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Gert-Peter Brueggemann

  4. Houston, Texas, USA

    Zhigang Deng

  5. ACRISP, FedUniversity, Cremorne, New South Wales, Australia

    Andrew McIntosh

  6. Wilmington, Delaware, USA

    Freeman Miller

  7. Research, C-Motion, Inc., Germantown, Maryland, USA

    William Scott Selbie

Section Editor information

  1. 3 Ellalong Rd., 2090, Cremorne, NSW, Australia

    Andrew McIntosh Dr.

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Coats, B., Margulies, S. (2017). Biomechanical Forensics in Pediatric Head Trauma. In: Müller, B., et al. Handbook of Human Motion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30808-1_99-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30808-1_99-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-30808-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-30808-1

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