U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 Development and Validation of a New Pediatric Head Injury Assessment Tool for Possible Child Abuse Cases Considering Subject-Specific Child Head Anatomy
Award Information
Awardee
              The Regents of the University of Michigan
Award #
              2012-DN-BX-K045
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    Ann Arbor, MI
Congressional District
              12
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2012
Total funding (to date)
              $549,859
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY 12 Applied Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2012, $549,859)
Establishing whether a head injury to a child was the result of a short fall or abuse is a fundamental problem in forensic investigation. Current injury assessments on possible child abuse cases are mainly based on clinical evidence and experts' professional experiences. However, expert opinions regarding how a head injury occurred to a child are often not based on scientific evidence and sometimes in direct conflict, which can result in wrongful legal action. The goal of this research is to establish a new paradigm for developing and using subject-specific pediatric head finite element (FE) models to provide objective and accurate assessments for judging the consistency of head injuries and the stated causes in infants or young children. The FE model-based injury assessment tool is designed to evaluate whether a non-abusive injury cause, such as a fall, described by the parents or caregivers can or cannot cause the medically observed head injury. However, it is not designed to directly predict shaken baby syndrome due to the controversial injury mechanism and difficulty in accurately quantifying the severity of a child abuse event. Our modeling paradigm will provide useful, accurate and objective information to both clinicians and forensic investigators which will help determine the true causes of a pediatric head injury. Five specific aims are proposed in this study: 1) to develop a statistical model that describes head geometry of 0-3 year-old (YO) children based on CT images, accounting for head size and shape, suture and fontanelles size, and skull thickness; 2) to conduct dynamic pediatric brain material-property tests using porcine brain tissues and quantify the age effects on brain material properties under loading conditions similar to real world injurious events; 3) to develop a fast and efficient method to automatically generate subject-specific pediatric head FE models capable of representing developmental changes during child growth; 4) to computationally reconstruct 50 infant cadaver drop tests reported by Weber (1984, 1985) for model validation/optimization and development of a skull-fracture injury criterion for 0-1 YO children; and 5) to prospectively collect clinical data on and computationally reconstruct 80 head-first shortfall accidents and child abuse cases for further model validation/optimization and development of a traumatic brain injury criterion for 0-3 YO children. The final product of this project will be a model-based head-injury assessment tool for 0-3 YO children. Users will only need to input patients basic information, such as age, weight, height, head circumference, and/or head CT/MRI images to rapidly generate the subject-specific head FE model. If incident conditions, such as fall height, fall angle, and impact surface material and thickness, are also defined, the model will be able to predict a range of skull/brain injury risks based on model-calculated results, and will provide a statistical assessment to whether the existing head injury is consistent with the stated injurious event. This pediatric head-injury assessment tool will provide a more objective, accurate, and cost effective way for forensic science researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in the criminal justice system to evaluate the consistency of a head injury with the stated cause in an infant or a young child. ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Development and Validation of A New Pediatric Head Injury Assessment Tool For Possible Child Abuse Cases Considering Subject-Specific Child Head Anatomy
                  Height of head centre of gravity predicts paediatric head injury severity in short-distance falls
                  Statistical Skull Geometry Model for Children 0-3 Years Old

  
Date Created: August 22, 2012
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      Climate, Culture, and Correction Officer Wellness
                  Empirical Analysis of Saw Mark Characteristics in Human Bone: Meeting Forensic Standards in Dismemberment Cases
                  Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Advance Transformative Credible Messenger Mentoring for Justice-Involved Youth of Color
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov