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. 2010:54:3-14.

The tolerance of the nasal bone to blunt impact

Joseph Cormier  1 , Sarah Manoogian, Jill Bisplinghoff, Steve Rowson, Anthony Santago, Craig McNally, Stefan Duma, John Bolte Iv
Affiliations

The tolerance of the nasal bone to blunt impact

Joseph Cormier et al. Ann Adv Automot Med. 2010.

Abstract

The nasal bone is among the most frequently broken facial bone due to all types of trauma and is the most frequently fractured facial bone due to motor vehicle collisions. This study reports the results of anterior-posterior impacts performed on male cadavers using a free-falling impactor with a flat impacting surface. The force at fracture onset was determined using an acoustic emission sensor. These non-censored data were utilized in parametric and non-parametric techniques to determine a relationship between applied force and fracture risk. Based on these analyses a 50% risk of fracture corresponded to an applied force of approximately 450 to 850 N. There was no correlation between fracture force and anthropometric measures of the nasal bone. Interestingly, age had a statistically significant relationship with the risk of nasal bone fracture. This study demonstrates the need for a non-censored measure of fracture occurrence when evaluating structures that can continue to support load after fracture onset.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of facial fractures from hospital data (Alvi 2003).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of facial fractures in frontal impacts within NASS-CDS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Basic facial anatomy demonstrating location of nasal bones.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Measurements of nasal bone taken using pre-test CT images.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Demonstration of nose length measurement.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic of test apparatus to be used in the current study.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Acoustic emission and force during an impact resulting in a nasal fracture.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Force-displacement response from nasal impact shown in Figure 7.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Impact force and AE during nasal impact resulting in no fracture.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Relationship between peak force and fracture force.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Relationship between contact area and peak force during nasal bone impacts.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Relationship between subject age and nasal bone fracture force.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Risk of nasal bone fracture using parametric and non-parametric techniques.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Risk of nasal bone fracture with age as a covariate.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Nasal bone peak force with respect to impactor energy by study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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