Advanced Side Impact Head Protection Technology for Child Safety Seats

Project Summary/Abstract Minnesota HealthSolutions Corporation (MHS) proposes to develop a novel dynamic headrest for child safety seats to reduce head injuries in crashes with a side impact. Side impact crashes cause disproportionately higher rates of head injuries and fatalities compared to other crash directions, yet historically child safety seats were designed and tested for head-on crashes. Recent efforts to mitigate head injuries to children in side impact crashes have resulted in larger wings attached to the headrest. However, in side impact crashes, children's heads frequently move both forward and laterally, and larger wings do not contain children's head. Research has shown that side wings have little to no effort on head containment or head excursion. We hypothesize that a child safety seat with a dynamic headrest that requires no change in user behavior will reduce head-related injuries to children in crashes. An interdisciplinary team of researchers has been assembled to define, build, and evaluate a prototype system.