UMTRI Project

Protection of Pregnant Occupants and their Fetuses in Vehicle Crashes

Sponsor: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Investigators: Jonathan Rupp, Kathleen DeSantis Klinich
04/01/2007 - 03/31/2009

This project aims to develop tools for assessing restraint system performance with regard to mitigating the risk of injury to pregnant occupants in crashes. Research areas include parameterization of pregnant occupant abdomen and pelvis anthropometry using occupant gestation and stature, characterization of uterine, placental and uteroplacental tissue properties, development of associated finite element material models, and upgrades to MAMA-2B components, instrumentation, and injury reference values.