ICAM

The strength of the International Center for Automotive Medicine (ICAM) research team at Michigan is derived not only from the surgeons and researchers at the Trauma Burn Center, but also from the intense collaborative involvement of biomechanics researchers and crash investigators of the Bioscience Division at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), which has been conducting in-depth crash investigations and experimental impact biomechanics research for more than 30 years. The close collaboration between the Trauma Burn Center and UMTRI allows seamless co-analysis of detailed injury and laboratory data in conjunction with expert field investigations. Such in-depth and integrated analysis has provided critical new insights into injury causation mechanisms. The close proximity of ICAM at the University of Michigan to the extensive safety design and engineering expertise of the automotive industry and its suppliers enables frequent and timely exchanges of information. Industry safety and test engineers are able to provide the Michigan team with important information about vehicle and restraint design and performance that is useful in analyzing the injury and crash data. Armed with insight provided by CIREN analyses, vehicle safety engineers are able to make more rational and timely design decisions that can reduce the likelihood of injury and long-term disability in motor vehicle crashes.