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Intervertebral Neck Injury Criterion for Prediction of Multiplanar Cervical Spine Injury Due to Side Impacts

Objective. Intervertebral Neck Injury Criterion (IV-NIC) is based on the hypothesis that dynamic three-dimensional intervertebral motion beyond physiological limits may cause multiplanar injury of cervical spine soft tissues. Goals of this study, using a biofidelic whole human cervical spine model with muscle force replication and surrogate head in simulated side impacts, were to correlate IV-NIC with multiplanar injury and determine IV-NIC injury threshold for each intervertebral level. Methods. Using a bench-top apparatus, side impacts were simulated at 3.5, 5, 6.5, and 8 g horizontal accelerations of the T1 vertebra. Pre- and post-impact flexibility testing in three-motion planes measured the soft tissue injury, i.e., significant increase (p < 0.05) in neutral zone (NZ) or range of motion (RoM) at any intervertebral level, above corresponding physiological limit. Results. IV-NIC in left lateral bending correlated well with total lateral bending RoM (R = 0.61, P < 0.001) and NZ (R = 0.55, P < 0.001). Additionally, the same IV-NIC correlated well with left axial rotation RoM (R = 0.50, P < 0.001). IV-NIC injury thresholds (95% confidence limits) varied among intervertebral levels and ranged between 1.5 (0.6–2.4) at C3-C4 and 4.0 (2.4–5.7) at C7-T1. IV-NIC injury threshold times were attained beginning at 84.5 ms following impact. Conclusions. Present results suggest that IV-NIC is an effective tool for determining multiplanar soft tissue neck injuries by identifying the intervertebral level, mode, time, and severity of injury.