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Trauma Biomechanics pp 247–280Cite as

Ballistic and Blast Trauma

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Abstract

Exposure to blast and ballistic threats occurs in both defence and civilian environments and is, unfortunately, still common today (see also Chap. 1). Ballistic injury refers to the interaction of a projectile and the human body leading to penetrating or blunt trauma, while blast injury refers to detonation of an explosive and the subsequent complex interaction of the blast, fragments and debris with the human body. There is, of course, overlap between ballistic injury and blast fragmentation. Some common areas of blast injury include the lower extremity, thorax and head, although all body regions may be exposed to blast loading. Similarly, all body regions are susceptible to ballistic injury where protection is often first focused on life-sustaining organs (heart, lungs and brain). Active areas of research include head injury in blast, vehicle and vehicle occupant blast protection, and fragmentation and ballistic protection of the head, face and thorax, including behind armour blunt trauma (BABT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AGU Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Kai-Uwe Schmitt

  2. Zürich, Switzerland

    Peter F. Niederer

  3. University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Duane S. Cronin

  4. Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Barclay Morrison III

  5. AGU Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Markus H. Muser

  6. Uitikon Waldegg, Switzerland

    Felix Walz

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  1. Kai-Uwe Schmitt
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Schmitt, KU., Niederer, P.F., Cronin, D.S., Morrison III, B., Muser, M.H., Walz, F. (2019). Ballistic and Blast Trauma. In: Trauma Biomechanics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11659-0_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11659-0_11

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