Response of the knee joint to the pedestrian impact loading environment

Isolated knee joints from Post Mortem Human Subjects (PMHS) were tested in dynamic lateral-medial valgus loading that replicated a vehicle-pedestrian impact at 40 km/h. Eight specimens were tested in 4-point bending (pure bending) and eight specimens were tested in 3-point bending in configurations chosen to apply varying proportions of moment and shear at the knee joint. The medial collateral ligament (MCL) was the only major load bearing knee structure that was injured in the experiments. Applied loads (bending moment and shear force) and knee response (bending angle and shear displacement) are reported in order to provide information for determination of injury thresholds and for the validation of computational models and mechanical legform impactors.