Method and apparatus for assessing risks of injury

A physical modeling system for forming a physical model of a head, which is used in conjunction with a physical model of a product to assess injury risks, comprising:

• an imaging device for generating digital images of an external head, a skull and at least one cavity of a human head;
• a stereo lithograph, coupled to the imaging device, for generating stereo lithographic solids from the digital images of the external head, skull and at least one cavity;
• a first processing device, coupled to the stereo lithograph, for creating molds of the external head, skull and at least one cavity using the corresponding stereo lithographic solids;
• a second processing device, coupled to the first processing device, for casting moldable material into the mold of the at least one cavity;
• and
• a heating device, coupled to the second processing device, for melting the moldable material in the mold of the at least one cavity after the mold of the at least one cavity has been attached to the molds of the skull and the external head to thereby leave open the at least one cavity.

A method for forming a computer model of a head for assessing injury risks, the head including a plurality of cavities, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining a digital image of a human head, the digital image of the head including a plurality of slices, each slice being a digital image of a layer of the digital image of the head;
• creating a cast of the oral cavity of the head;
• cutting the cast of the oral cavity into a plurality of slices;
• obtaining a digital image of each slice of the cast of the oral cavity;
• filling the cavities for the digital image of each slice from the digital image and each slice from the cast of the oral cavity with a color that contrasts with a color used for areas of each digital image other than the cavities;
• forming the computer model of the head by placing the digital images of each slice from the digital image of the head and each slice from the cast of the oral cavity in their correct anatomical relationship;
• forming a computer model of a product;
• and
• manipulating the computer model of the product with the computer model of the head to assess the risk of injury posed to the cavities of the head by the product.

A computer modeling system for forming a computer model of a head, which is used in conjunction with a computer model of a product to assess injury risks, comprising:

• an imaging device for generating a digital image of a human head, the digital image of the head being divided into a plurality of slices, each slice being a digital image of a layer of the digital image of the head;
• a casting device for creating a cast of the oral cavity of the human head, cutting the cast of the oral cavity into a plurality of slices and generating a digital image of each slice of the cast of the oral cavity;
• a computer system, coupled to the imaging device and the casting device, having a processor and a memory for forming the computer model of the head from the digital images generated by the imaging device and the casting device, the processor executing modules stored in the memory, the memory being a computer readable medium and including:
• a color contrast module for filling the cavities for the digital image of each slice from the digital image of the head and each slice from the cast of the oral cavity with a color that contrasts with a color used for areas of each digital image other than the cavities;
• a formation module for forming the computer model of the head by placing the digital images of each slice from the digital image of the head and each slice from the cast of the oral cavity in their correct anatomical relationship;
• a product module for forming a computer model of a product;
• and
• an analysis module for manipulating the computer model of the product with the computer model of the head to assess the risk of injury posed to the cavities of the head by the product.