Blast Mitigation Seat Analysis: Assessment of the Effect of Personal Protective Equipment on the 5th Percentile Female Anthropomorphic Test Device Performance in Drop Tower Evaluations

Author(s):  
Kelly Bosch ◽  
Katrina Harris ◽  
David Clark ◽  
Risa Scherer ◽  
Joseph Melotik

To address the lack of knowledge on the quantitative effects of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on the small occupant, 55 drop tower tests were conducted and the resulting responses were evaluated. A previous technical publication evaluated the results of drop tower testing of twelve models of blast energy-attenuating seats1. That study assessed the data recorded from three sizes of anthropomorphic test devices, or ATDs, including the Hybrid III 5th percentile female, the Hybrid III 50th percentile male, and the Hybrid III 95th percentile male. The forces, moments, and accelerations from the ATDs were compared to Injury Assessment Reference Values (IARVs) to validate the drop tower methodology and to evaluate the appropriateness of the IARVs developed for the three occupant sizes. The data review revealed that the maximum lumbar compression loads recorded by the ATDs was an effective “go/no-go” criteria for judging seat performance, and that the 5th percentile female ATD, or small occupant, was the most difficult to pass the corresponding lumbar compression IARV. Additionally, the 5th percentile female ATD exceeded its corresponding IARV for upper neck compression, leading to the motivation for this study; the data set from the previous technical publication was used in this study. Historically, blast mitigation seats are designed to accommodate the average sized occupant, or 50th percentile male. Moving forward, there is a new emphasis on extending the protection afforded to the full military population, including the small female. The data presented in this paper seeks to determine the effect of PPE on the lumbar compression and upper neck loads for the small occupant.

Author(s):  
Kelly Bosch

Although blast mitigation seats are historically designed to protect the 50th percentile male occupant based on mass, the scope of the occupant centric platform (OCP) Technology Enabled Capability Demonstration (TEC-D) within the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development Engineering Center (TARDEC) Ground System Survivability has been expanded to encompass lighter and heavier occupants which represents the central 90th percentile of the military population. A series of drop tower tests were conducted on twelve models of blast energy-attenuating (EA) seats to determine the effects of vertical accelerative loading on ground vehicle occupants. Two previous technical publications evaluated specific aspects of the results of these drop tower tests on EA seats containing the three sizes of anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) including the Hybrid III 5th percentile female, the Hybrid III 50th percentile male, and the Hybrid III 95th percentile male. The first publication addressed the overall trends of the forces, moments, and accelerations recorded by the ATDs when compared to Injury Assessment Reference Values (IARVs), as well as validating the methodology used in the drop tower evaluations1. Review of ATD data determined that the lumbar spine compression in the vertical direction could be used as the “go/no-go” indicator of seat performance. The second publication assessed the quantitative effects of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on the small occupant, as the addition of a helmet and Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV) with additional gear increased the weight of the 5th percentile female ATD more than 50%2. Comparison of the loading data with and without PPE determined that the additional weight of PPE increased the overall risk of compressive injury to the lumbar and upper neck of the small occupant during an underbody blast event. Using the same data set, this technical paper aimed to evaluate overall accelerative loading trends of the 5th percentile female ATD when compared to those of the 50th percentile male ATD in the same seat and PPE configuration. This data trend comparison was conducted to gain an understanding of how seat loading may differ with a smaller occupant. The focus of the data analysis centered around the lumbar spine compression, as this channel was the most likely to exceed the IARV limit for the 5th percentile female ATD. Based on the previous analysis of this data set, the lightest occupant trends showed difficulty in protecting against lumbar compression injuries with respect to the 5th percentile female’s IARV, whereas the larger occupants experienced fewer issues in complying with their respective IARVs for lumbar compression. A review of pelvis acceleration was also conducted for additional kinetic insight into the motion of the ATDs as the seat strokes. This analysis included a review of how the weight and size of the occupant may affect the transmission of forces through a stroking seat during the vertical accelerative loading impulse.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0242183
Author(s):  
Marc Garbey ◽  
Guillaume Joerger ◽  
Shannon Furr ◽  
Vid Fikfak

We present a computational model of workflow in the hospital during a pandemic. The objective is to assist management in anticipating the load of each care unit, such as the ICU, or ordering supplies, such as personal protective equipment, but also to retrieve key parameters that measure the performance of the health system facing a new crisis. The model was fitted with good accuracy to France’s data set that gives information on hospitalized patients and is provided online by the French government. The goal of this work is both practical in offering hospital management a tool to deal with the present crisis of COVID-19 and offering a conceptual illustration of the benefit of computational science during a pandemic.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Garbey ◽  
Guillaume Joerger ◽  
Shannon Furr ◽  
Vid Fikfak

AbstractWe present a computational model of workflow in the hospital during a pandemic. The objective is to assist management in anticipating the load of each care unit, such as the ICU, or ordering supplies, such as personal protective equipment, but also to retrieve key parameters that measure the performance of the health system facing a new crisis. The model was fitted with good accuracy to France’s data set that gives information on hospitalized patients and is provided online by the French government. The goal of this work is both practical in offering hospital management a tool to deal with the present crisis of COVID-19 and offering a conceptual illustration of the benefit of computational science during a pandemic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (04) ◽  
pp. 294-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz S. Freudenberg ◽  
Ulf Dittmer ◽  
Ken Herrmann

Abstract Introduction Preparations of health systems to accommodate large number of severely ill COVID-19 patients in March/April 2020 has a significant impact on nuclear medicine departments. Materials and Methods A web-based questionnaire was designed to differentiate the impact of the pandemic on inpatient and outpatient nuclear medicine operations and on public versus private health systems, respectively. Questions were addressing the following issues: impact on nuclear medicine diagnostics and therapy, use of recommendations, personal protective equipment, and organizational adaptations. The survey was available for 6 days and closed on April 20, 2020. Results 113 complete responses were recorded. Nearly all participants (97 %) report a decline of nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures. The mean reduction in the last three weeks for PET/CT, scintigraphies of bone, myocardium, lung thyroid, sentinel lymph-node are –14.4 %, –47.2 %, –47.5 %, –40.7 %, –58.4 %, and –25.2 % respectively. Furthermore, 76 % of the participants report a reduction in therapies especially for benign thyroid disease (-41.8 %) and radiosynoviorthesis (–53.8 %) while tumor therapies remained mainly stable. 48 % of the participants report a shortage of personal protective equipment. Conclusions Nuclear medicine services are notably reduced 3 weeks after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic reached Germany, Austria and Switzerland on a large scale. We must be aware that the current crisis will also have a significant economic impact on the healthcare system. As the survey cannot adapt to daily dynamic changes in priorities, it serves as a first snapshot requiring follow-up studies and comparisons with other countries and regions.


2020 ◽  
pp. 30-33
Author(s):  
E. V. Panina ◽  
M. V. Pugachev ◽  
A. G. Shchesiu

The article shows that in the daily activities of nursing staff of functional diagnostics departments (offices), it is necessary to strictly observe the requirements and rules for the prevention of infections associated with medical care, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The types of personal protective equipment (PPE) of medical personnel (MP), as well as current effective methods of disinfection, rules for collecting medical waste in a complex epidemiological situation are presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (31) ◽  
pp. 87-95
Author(s):  
Nicole Maria Miyamoto Bettini ◽  
Fabiana Tomé Ramos ◽  
Priscila Masquetto Vieira de Almeida

A Organização Mundial da Saúde - OMS confirmou a circulação internacional do novo Coronavírus em janeiro de 2020, nomeando-o como COVID-19 e, declarando uma pandemia. É de extrema importância que durante a pandemia, os profissionais de saúde tenham acesso e conhecimento sobre o uso correto dos Equipamentos de Proteção Individual (EPIs) e suas indicações, tomando assim, as devidas precauções na prevenção de infecções. O presente estudo buscou identificar a padronização mundial quanto ao uso dos EPIs utilizados no atendimento a pacientes suspeitos e/ou confirmados de COVID-19 no Brasil, EUA, China, Espanha, Itália e demais países europeus. Os guidelines apresentam a padronização quanto ao uso dos EPIs utilizados no atendimento a suspeitos e/ou confirmados de COVID-19, indo ao encontro das recomendações fornecidas pela OMS. Até o momento, o uso de EPIs é sem dúvida a estratégia mais importante e eficaz para proteger os profissionais de saúde durante a assistência ao paciente com COVID-19.Descritores: Infecções por Coronavírus, Equipamento de Proteção Individual, Pessoal de Saúde, Enfermagem. Recommendations for personal protective equipment to combat COVID-19Abstract: The World Health Organization - WHO confirmed the international circulation of the new Coronavirus in January 2020, naming it as COVID-19 and declaring a pandemic. It is extremely important that during the pandemic, health professionals have access and knowledge about the correct use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and its indications, thus taking appropriate precautions to prevent infections. The present study sought to identify the worldwide standardization regarding the use of PPE utilized to take care of suspected and confirmed patients with COVID-19 in Brazil, USA, China, Spain, Italy and other European countries. The guidelines present a standardization regarding the use of PPE utilized to take care of suspected and confirmed with COVID-19, in line with the recommendations provided by WHO. To date, the use of PPE is undoubtedly the most important and effective strategy to protect healthcare professionals during care for patients with COVID-19.Descriptors: Coronavirus Infections, Personal Protective Equipment, Health Personnel, Nursing. Recomendaciones para el equipo de protección personal para combatir COVID-19Resumen: La Organización Mundial de la Salud - La OMS confirmó la circulación internacional del nuevo Coronavirus en enero de 2020, nombrándolo COVID-19 y declarando una pandemia. Es extremadamente importante que durante la pandemia, los profesionales de la salud tengan acceso y conocimiento sobre el uso correcto del Equipo de Protección Personal (EPP) y sus indicaciones, tomando así las precauciones adecuadas para prevenir infecciones. El presente estudio buscó identificar la estandarización mundial con respecto al uso de EPP utilizado para atender a pacientes sospechosos y/o confirmados con COVID-19 en Brasil, Estados Unidos, China, España, Italia y otros países europeos. Las pautas presentan la estandarización con respecto al uso de EPP utilizado para cuidar COVID-19 sospechoso y/o confirmado, de acuerdo con las recomendaciones proporcionadas por la OMS. Hasta la fecha, el uso de EPP es, sin duda, la estrategia más importante y efectiva para proteger a los profesionales de la salud durante la atención de pacientes con COVID-19.Descriptores: Infecciones por Coronavirus, Equipo de Protección Personal, Personal de Salud, Enfermería.


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