A laboratory study of posture and belt fit was conducted with 46 men and 51 women, 61% of whom were age 60 years or older and 32% age 70 years or older. In addition, 28% of the 97 participants were obese, defined as body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m 2. A mockup of a passenger vehicle driver's station was created and five belt anchorage configurations were produced by moving the buckle, outboard-upper (D-ring), and outboard-lower anchorages. An investigator recorded the three-dimensional locations of landmarks on the belt and the participant's body using a coordinate measurement machine. The location of the belt with respect to the underlying skeletal structures was analyzed, along with the length of belt webbing. Using linear regression models, an increase in age from 20 to 80 years resulted in the lap belt positioned 18 mm further forward relative to the pelvis, 26 mm greater lap belt webbing length, and 19 mm greater shoulder belt length. An increase in stature of 350 mm (approximately the range from 5 th-percentile female to 95 th-percentile male in the U.S. population) was associated with the lap belt 14 mm further forward relative to the pelvis, the shoulder belt 37 mm more outboard relative to the body centerline, and 38 mm less shoulder belt webbing length. Among the driver factors considered, body mass index had the greatest effects. An increase of BMI in 20 kg/m 2 , which spans approximately the central 90% of U.S. adults, was associated with the lap belt being placed 102 mm further forward and 94 mm higher, relative to the pelvis, and increases in lap and shoulder belt webbing length of 276 and 258 mm, respectively. Gender did not have important effects on the analyzed belt fit measures after taking into account stature and body mass index. These results offer important considerations for future crash safety assessments and suggest that further research is needed to consider belt fit for older and obese occupants.

The posture-prediction models can be used to position computational human models or crash-test dummies for vehicle design and assessment.

BackgroundGuidelines support endoscopic removal of certain gastric FB and all FB lodged in the esophagus. We aim to report our experience on endoscopic foreign bodies (FB) removal in order to aid in the formation of future guidelines regarding this subject.MethodsRetrospective analysis of one hundred forty-four cases of FB removal involving 43 patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for FB removal from January 2005 through December 2010 in a university-based hospital. To evaluate to outcome of endoscopic FB removal, cost of procedures and complications.ResultsOf all FB removal cases, 23 (53%) were males, with total mean age of 26.4 ± 11.3 years. Only 20% were performed on an outpatient bases. Abdominal x-ray was obtained to confirm ingestion of FB in 83%, and computed tomography scan was performed in 13%. Most procedures were performed in operation room (59%) while only 21% of the cases were performed in endoscopy lab. General anesthesia was used in 58%, while monitored anesthesia care in 28%. Average time to EGD was 17.14 hours. No major complications due to procedure were reported. Minor trauma and erosions due to FB were reported in 14%. FB extraction was unsuccessful in only three cases, and one case required surgical intervention. Cost of all procedures was over 430, 000 dollars with mean of 2,990 dollars for procedure.ConclusionEndoscopic retrieval is effective and safe procedure, but utilizes significant hospital resources.

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