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Saab Uses First Crash Test Dummy Designed To Evaluate Whiplash

2 December 1998

Saab Uses World's First Crash Test Dummy Designed To Evaluate Whiplash Type Injury Risks

    NORCROSS, Ga., Dec. 1 -- Saab's newest crash test dummy
family member is called BioRID. An acronym for Biofidelic Rear Impact Dummy,
BioRID will significantly advance development and testing of systems designed
to help protect against whiplash type injuries, such as the world-first Saab
Active Head Restraint (SAHR).  Developed by a Swedish consortium that included
Saab Automobile AB, BioRID is the first test dummy specifically designed to
help safety engineers evaluate the risk of neck injuries in rear-end
collisions.
    Today's standard crash test dummy, the Hybrid III, cannot effectively
measure how seating systems protect occupant necks during rear impacts.
Because the Hybrid III was not designed to provide neck or spine data in rear
impacts, Saab found it to be inadequate during the development of its unique
SAHR system.  Instead, Saab safety engineers have also used a specially
developed neck fitted to a Hybrid III dummy.  At the same time, Saab
participated in the development of the BioRID.
    BioRID features 24 vertebrae, the same number as in the human spine. It
has joints that allow for forward and backward movement of the head, and
integrates spring-loaded cables that simulate the action of human neck
muscles. As a result, during a rear-end crash, BioRID can simulate the actual
behavior of the human body better than any previous dummy.
    The most important benefit of using BioRID is the ability to measure head
movement and the difference in acceleration of head and chest during rear
collisions.  Kristina Wiklund, safety engineer at Saab Automobile AB and a
member of the team who developed the Saab Active Head Restraint system,
explains:  "In whiplash-related injuries, the pressure changes that occur in
the vertebral canal are minute -- and it's those changes that are possibly the
primary reason for neck injuries.  Prior to BioRID, dummies could not measure
these pressure changes -- they merely measured larger ranges of movement and
acceleration changes."
    Currently Saab is using one of only four BioRID dummies in existence for
current and future product development work.  Saab is also in discussions with
insurance and testing organizations about requirements related to rear end
collision injury prevention.
    "The only current regulatory rear-end crash test is designed to evaluate
the risk of fuel leaks," said Gerald Plante, Saab Cars USA, Inc.'s compliance
manager.  "Saab is very interested in developing more scientific tests that
better evaluate the effectiveness of  whiplash prevention systems, such as
SAHR.  Considering that whiplash injuries constitute one of the most common
and costly injuries from rear-end collisions, we feel a move advanced BioRID
can be an important element in Saab's biomechanical development work."