| Nissan has been collaborating in an exploratory
project to develop bone-scanning technology that claims to maximise the
protection offered to occupants in the event of a car crash.
Nissan's Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) is one of several automotive
organisations involved in the bone-scanning project called Bone Scanning
for Occupant Safety (BOSCOS). The aim of the this is to research and develop
technology which can adjust the deployment of on-board safety systems
to account for the density of the occupants' bone structure.
In recent years, huge progress has been made in occupant protection from
the introduction of seatbelt pretensioners, steering wheel mounted airbags,
then passenger, side and curtain airbags. The BOSCOS project is intended
to take these safety devices to the next level of effectiveness.
Research taken from analysis has shown that injuries such as fractured
ribs and sternum result from the deployment of airbags and the high forces
that are applied when seatbelts are used in real world accidents. In particular,
older drivers and passengers who have weaker bones or medical conditions
such as osteoporosis can suffer from fractures as a result of the deployment
of airbags and seatbelts.
The bone scanning system works by using ultrasound technology to analyse
the bone density of the occupants and it can then adjust the force of
the airbag and seatbelt pretensioners to maximise the protection offered
by those devices, and at the same time help keep to a minimum the risk
of injury as a direct result of their deployment.
To analyse the bone density, occupants place their finger in an aperture
upon starting the car and an ultrasound reader measures their bone density.
With the results recorded, the various safety devices will calculate the
optimum level of deployment to protect the occupants, whilst keeping to
a minimum their risk of injury.
Although the deployment of airbags and the momentary high forces exerted
on the chest by the seatbelt during real world accidents can occasionally
cause injuries, it is well known that these injuries are significantly
less serious than the injury that would likely occur to the occupants
without the intervention of a seatbelt and airbag.
The consortium includes the Cranfield Impact Centre, part of Cranfield
University's School of Industrial and Manufacturing Science in the UK
and TRW Automotive. Unfortunately, at the moment there is no schedule
for when this technology will first be employed on a commercially available
vehicle.
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