Hindawi Publishing Corporation Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine Volume 2013, Article ID 419821, 12 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/419821 Research Article Comparison of Organ Location, Morphology, and Rib Coverage of a Midsized Male in the Supine and Seated Positions Ashley R. Hayes, 1,2 F. Scott Gayzik, 1,2 Daniel P. Moreno, 1,2 R. Shayn Martin, 2 and Joel D. Stitzel 1,2 1 Virginia Tech, Wake Forest University Center for Injury Biomechanics, 575 N. Patterson Avenue Suite 120, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA 2 Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA Correspondence should be addressed to F. Scott Gayzik; sgayzik@wakehealth.edu Received 5 December 2012; Revised 15 February 2013; Accepted 21 February 2013 Academic Editor: Costin D. Untaroiu Copyright © 2013 Ashley R. Hayes et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Te location and morphology of abdominal organs due to postural changes have implications in the prediction of trauma via computational models. Te purpose of this study is to use data from a multimodality image set to devise a method for examining changes in organ location, morphology, and rib coverage from the supine to seated postures. Medical images of a male volunteer (78.6 ± 0.77 kg, 175 cm) in three modalities (Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Upright MRI) were used. Trough image segmentation and registration, an analysis between organs in each posture was conducted. For the organs analyzed (liver, spleen, and kidneys), location was found to vary between postures. Increases in rib coverage from the supine to seated posture were observed for the liver, with a 9.6% increase in a lateral projection and a 4.6% increase in a frontal projection. Rib coverage area was found to increase 11.7% for the spleen. Morphological changes in the organs were also observed. Te liver expanded 7.8% cranially and compressed 3.4% and 5.2% in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions, respectively. Similar trends were observed in the spleen and kidneys. Tese fndings indicate that the posture of the subject has implications in computational human body model development. 1. Introduction Te fatalities and injuries associated with motor vehicle crash remain a leading problem in the United States. In 2010, the National Highway Trafc Safety Administration reported 30,196 individuals were killed in 5.4 million police-reported automobile crashes. In addition roughly 1.5 million people were injured in these police-reported motor vehicle crashes [1]. Te University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute used the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) to show approximately 19,000 adult occupants sustain abdominal injuries per year. Of those 19,000 adult occupants, the liver and spleen are found to be the most commonly injured organs in frontal impact cases, with kidney injury being minimal [2]. Tese injuries ofen result from loads from the steering wheel, seat belt, or other interior features of a vehicle, such as the door in a near-side lateral impact, and the literature has reported that rib fracture can lead to damage of abdominal organs including the liver, spleen, and kidneys [3– 6]. Additionally, literature reported that low right-sided rib fracture increased the probability of liver injury, and low lef- sided rib fracture increased the probability of spleen injury [3–6]. Al-Hassani et al. also concluded lower rib fracture result in kidney injury [5]. Abdominal injuries are not exclusive to the civilian population. Military personnel are also susceptible to non- penetrating ballistic and blast impact which lead to internal abdominal injuries, such as liver laceration [7]. In blast events, air-containing organs including the lungs, larynx, trachea, and gastrointestinal region are the primary sources of injury, followed by solid organs like the liver, spleen, and kidneys. Although these abdominal organs are not as vulnerable to blast injury as air-containing organs, lacerations or lethal hemorrhage can occur [8].