(This project is part of a five-year grant awarded to The Center for Injury Research and Control (CIRCL) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Funding Agency:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Grant No. R49/CCR310285)

Total Project Period:

9/1/03 - 8/31/08

Total Project Award:

4,498,178 (total CIRCL grant award amount)

Principal Investigator:

Gina Bertocci, PhD, PE (Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology)

Co-Investigators:

Mary Clyde Pierce, MD (Pediatrics); Ernest Deemer, MS, PE (Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology)

Project Status:

The purpose of this project is to develop and validate computer simulation models to investigate head injury risk associated with common pediatric falls in one-year-old children. This will be accomplished by modeling common fall scenarios involving a one-year-old child using computer simulation techniques; conducting experiments to validate a computer simulation models using an anthropomorphic test dummy representing the one-year-old child; and conducting analyses to determine the influence of various fall environment factors and initial conditions on head injury risk.