Making Dummy for the Elderly of the Rib Trauma Using 3D Printer

Chest injuries to vehicle occupants account for a large percentage of fatal car accidents. The development of brittle material dummies is necessary to visually determine the status of a fracture. In this study, a physical model was developed to reproduce a rib fracture of the lateral thoracic region of a passenger in a car using a brittle material with human bone characteristics. Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), a kind of plastic, was used as a brittle material, and specimens and physical models were created by a 3D printer to obtain physical properties. The physical model consists of six ribs from the fourth to the ninth thoracic vertebrae, and the ribs are designed to have the same width, length, and thickness as in humans. Physical models were produced for the elderly models in automotive safety performance tests.