Epidemiology and Biomechanical Analysis of Facial Fractures

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the occurrence of facial fractures in automotive collisions and to determine the tolerance of the facial bones to blunt impact. The effects of restraint use, impact severity and impact direction on facial fractures were evaluated using the NASS-CDS database. The association between brain injury and facial fractures was also examined. The tolerance of the frontal bone, nasal bone, maxilla and mandible was determined using the flat surface of a cylindrical impactor. The influence of anthropometric measures and geometrical descriptors on the tolerance of the facial bones is also presented. The force-displacement response of each impacted region was also determined and response corridors were created. These corridors were used to evaluate the biofidelity of the FOCUS headform under the same impact conditions. Mathematical models were also created to predict the force and displacement resulting from facial impact. The data contained in this dissertation can be used to determine the risk of facial fracture as a function of impact force and evaluate the biofidelity of models simulating facial impact.