Posterior Cruciate Ligament Response to Proximal Tibia Impact

There is currently no acceptable injury threshold for posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries in frontal crash testing. This paper outlines the approach used to develop an impact protocol to determine PCL response of isolated post mortem human subject (PMHS) lower limbs. The protocol will eventually be used to conduct proximal tibia impacts to PMHS lower limbs for comparison to proximal tibia impacts in the Hybrid III (HIII) midsize male anthropomorphic test device (ATD). This comparison will be done in an effort to relate PMHS tibia subluxation and PCL injury timing to HIII knee slider displacement. Ultimately, a PCL injury threshold will be determined through this relationship.