Problem Description

The human body’s resilience is remarkable, yet extremity injuries—particularly to the arms and shoulders—are among one of the most common and impactful consequences of road accidents. For vulnerable road users (VRUs) like pedestrians, cyclists, and e-scooterists, these injuries can lead to long-term disability, reduced quality of life, and extended work absences. Despite advancements in safety measures, the upper extremities remain highly vulnerable due to the unpredictable nature of crashes. To further enhance the protection of VRUs to also include the upper extremities, more knowledge on what type of injuries are most frequent, and in what situations these injuries are obtained, is needed.

Objectives 

The objective of this thesis is to identify what type of upper extremity injuries are most common for the different vulnerable road users (VRUs), as well as identifying potential risk factors. The result will be obtained by analyzing real life accident data using statistical methods. The result from this study should be used to guide future efforts in determining injury mechanisms for vulnerable road users.

Research questions:

• What upper extremity injuries are most common for the different VRUs?

• What are the risk factors associated with upper extremity injury for VRUs?

• Are there any similarities in injury patterns between the different VRUs?

By addressing these questions, this thesis will contribute to enhancing safety measures and developing injury prevention strategies tailored to the needs of diverse road users.

In this master thesis project stakeholders are Autoliv, IF and Chalmers.

Suitability

Educational background: Master's level studies in Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Design, Engineering Physics, Engineering Mathematics or similar.

Prerequisites: Python, R or Matlab.

Number of students: 1 or 2.

Application

If you find this opportunity interesting and in line with your profile, do not wait with your application! We will start the recruitment process immediately and the positions could be filled before the final application date, 2024-11-30.

Information and contact:

Amanda Hederskog, amanda.hederskog@autoliv.com (financial compensation from Autoliv will be awarded to the students)

Hanna Jeppsson, hanna.jeppsson@autoliv.com

Magdalena Lindman, magdalena.lindman@if.se

Jordanka Kovaceva, jordanka.kovaceva@chalmers.se