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The SCIB: Getting inside motor vehicle injury
The Southern Consortium for Injury Biomechanics (SCIB) grew out of the realization that much more research was needed to understand the interaction of body and machine in vehicle crashes. Drawing on expertise accumulated over nearly 16 years of research at the ICRC, Dr. Russ Fine and Dr. Jay Goldman, both distinguished scientists and professors in their respective fields, put together a roster of pre-eminent, world-class injury biomechanists and, with their assistance, developed a research agenda targeting injury prevention and improving post-injury recovery. Now, in less than four years, the SCIB has achieved an international reputation and continues to increase its involvement with top-level scientists throughout the country. One of the most important objectives the SCIB accomplishes is bringing together scientists to work collaboratively instead of competitively, in a multi-disciplinary environment. By involving scientists who are experts in biomechanics, computer modeling, engineering, pediatric orthopedics, and numerous other highly technical disciplines, the SCIB ensures that injury problem-solving is as comprehensive as possible. Even though not all disciplines are a part of every project, having so many scientific specialties associated with one organization gives each research project’s principal investigator and faculty scientists access to proven resources to help them solve problems that arise that may be out of their usual areas of expertise. Moreover, regular interaction with a multi-disciplinary group allows each scientist to explore research outside of his or her own field, which can spark new solutions or research direction through understanding how other disciplines approach and resolve problems. Recognizing the value of the SCIB’s research, the US Department
of Transportation has funded the SCIB through the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA). The SCIB would like to thank US Senator Richard Shelby
for his support and advocacy of the SCIB’s mission and research
agenda.
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Biomechanics
is the study of the interaction of animate and inanimate objects – such
as how the human body reacts to the movement and rapid deceleration
of a vehicle in a crash. Thousands of Americans lose their lives
every year in motor vehicle crashes, and many thousands more are
injured, some permanently and catastrophically. Understanding more
about what happens to the human body during a vehicle crash could
result in improvements in vehicle design, protective rules and
regulations to which automakers must abide, or other safety measures,
which in turn could lower death rates and overall seriousness of
injuries sustained.
