Effect of gender, stature, and body mass on immobilized supine human response during en route care transport

Abstract

The effects of gender, stature, and body mass on the biodynamic response of supine humans during transport are presented in this work. Twelve female and 14 male subjects were strapped to a litter and spine board and transported in a military ground ambulance that was driven on a track ranging from smooth to bumpy conditions. Female subjects showed more pelvis vertical motion, less pelvis roll, and more pelvis pitch (p < 0.05 for most conditions) than male subjects. Subjects with higher body mass showed less pelvis vertical motion, more torso roll, more pelvis roll, and more torso pitch than subjects with lower body mass (p < 0.05 for some conditions). Differences were also seen among subjects with different statures but were not as significant. The subjects showed softening and stiffening behavior across the different road-sections with different vibration magnitudes and the results will be investigated in detail in future work.