Stephen E. Olvey

The development of a method to measure head acceleration and motion in high-impact crashes.

OBJECTIVETo establish a mechanism to obtain precise measurements of the accelerations of the head in the high-speed racing environment and during crash impacts. The long-term goal is to apply this system to the assessment of head injury in automobile racing drivers and then in participants in other helmeted sports. METHODSA multidisciplinary team conceptualized, designed, and successfully tested a triaxial accelerometer system capable of measuring head acceleration and motion in high-impact crashes. The system has been implemented successfully in the professional racing environment. RESULTSAccurate and reproducible data have been obtained from the accelerometer system in tests on manikins and cadavers and in actual racing events. The system has been implemented in two professional racing series in 2003. Information gained from the accelerometer system is currently being entered into a database. Eventually, the data should aid in the development of improved cockpit head protection in racing cars. Improved helmet design not only in motor sports but also in other helmeted sports should benefit from the data collected. These data will also aid the development of improved head injury protection in military aircraft and passenger vehicles. CONCLUSIONAlthough there has been a significant decrease in the overall rate of injury during the past 25 years, head injury remains a serious safety concern in motor sports and the greatest cause of death. Sports-related head injuries are also of great concern because repeated mild head injury has become an important health issue with potential long-term disability. True human tolerance to brain injury has yet to be established. Our scientific knowledge of brain injury is currently based on results derived from manikin, cadaver, and human volunteer testing, along with animal and computer models. The racing environment represents a venue to ethically measure and evaluate the forces involved in human brain injury.

Gastric rupture: an esophageal obturator airway complication.

The esophageal obturator airway (EOA) is in common use throughout the country. This report outlines an unexpected and serious complication: gastric rupture due to overinsufflation. A survey of the literature revealed that most of the known complications involve direct trauma to the esophagus or trachea. In our case, the patients stomach was ruptured due to vigorous manual ventilation where air was forced into the stomach under pressure, rather than into the lungs, due to failure of the air pressure cuff utilized in the EOA.

Acute medical care for championship auto racing

Auto racing is a diverse sport in terms of car design and sophistication, topography of race courses, speeds achieved, and driver experience. These factors relate directly to potential hazards of auto races and the approaches to safety utilized by the groups conducting these events. The evolution in recent years of technologically advanced racing machines capable of speeds exceeding 200 mph has mandated commensurate sophistication in acute medical care programs serving professional racing teams. A comprehensive team approach to the on-track evaluation and treatment of speed-sport-related trauma is described.

Championship Car Racing Accidents and Injuries

In brief: Sixty-nine race car drivers were surveyed in a study of the Indianapolis 500 from 1981 to 1984 and the 1984 Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series. The purpose was to evaluate the frequency of accidents and the nature of the resulting injuries that occur in Indianapolis-type race cars. Findings revealed that lower extremity injuries occurred most frequently. Accident frequency was one per 1,414 miles of racing in the CART series and one per 3,000 miles at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The number of accidents per injury was 9.5 in the CART series and 3.2 at Indianapolis, compared with 8.2 on US highways. This study suggests that current technology, which has shifted the spectrum of injuries from life-threatening to limb-threatening on the race track, could be applied to everyday highway safety as well.

Multimodality Monitoring in Acute Brain Injury

Major advances in microelectronics have produced new techniques for monitoring the injured brain; some, such as ion sensitive microelectrodes and continuous single-photon microscopy, remain confined to animal studies; others have transitioned rapidly into clinical use, including: Microdialysis Thermal dilution blood flow monitoring Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)