The purpose of this paper is to study the frontal-impact fracture tolerance of the hip. A dynamic load was applied to the knees of sixteen unembalmed human cadavers along the axis of the femur at loading rates that are representative of knee-to-knee bolster impacts in frontal car crashes. This is the first step in developing a new knee-thigh-hip (KTH) injury prevention model and further explores the tolerance of the femur relative to the hip. The tolerance of the hip is less than that of the femur during frontal impact crashes.
Abstract