Unique Eye-Injury Predicition Model Developed

Each year, about 2.4 million people in the U.S. sustain some type of eye injury and about 30,000 are rendered legally blind. A computer model developed at Virginia Tech can be used to accurately predict the probability of injuries to the eye.

"We've developed a model that can be used, for example, by airbag manufacturers and car companies to predict the probability that a given airbag deployment will rupture the eye if contact occurs," said Joel Stitzel, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering (ME) at Virginia Tech and principal developer of the model.

In fact, the model can be used to predict the probability of any type of eye injury, explained Stefan Duma, director of the Virginia Tech Impact Biomechanics Laboratory and Stitzel's major professor. "Joel's research breaks new ground in investigating eye injuries. This is the first model that can produce truly accurate eye injury predictions."

The model can investigate a range of injury-causing objects as diverse as military goggles, airbags, BB guns, baseballs, or plastic hair bands -- "any object that comes in contact with the human eye," Duma noted.

The model was designed by Stitzel, Duma, and ME student Joe Cormier in collaboration with Ian Herring of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.

"The way fluids and structures interact in this model is an approach that could be used to predict injury and rupture in certain other parts of the body," Stitzel explained. "For example, it could work with the vasculature -- the system of blood vessels -- or any of the fluid-filled organs, such as the heart, kidneys, or bladder."

"This model sets the stage for future research," Duma said. Accurate predictions of injury probabilities can lead to the design of better airbags, goggles, and other safety equipment, he added.

Stitzel's presentation of the research won first place in the student paper competition during the 46th Stapp Car Crash Conference held in November in Jacksonville, Fla.

The Stapp conference, founded by the late John Paul Stapp and sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers and a number of universities, is the premier forum for presentation of research in fields that advance the knowledge of land-vehicle crash injury protection. Stapp was an air force physician who pioneered research in human tolerance to acceleration and crash impacts, often acting himself as the test subject.

"It's extremely difficult to have a paper accepted by this conference," said Duma. "Receiving the top paper award was a great accomplishment for Joel."

Stitzel expects to complete his doctorate in 2003 and is interested in working in the field of automotive safety. "I would really like to perform more advanced modeling of the tissues in the human body," he noted. "Computational models of the body are probably going to replace automotive crash test dummies one day, and I'd like to be at the forefront of that work."