Abstract
<jats:p>The growing popularity of electric scooters, hoverboards, and electric bicycles among the pediatric population has led to a significant increase in the number of injuries, requiring detailed study of their formation mechanisms. The study analyzed 84 cases of injury in persons aged 4 to 18 years obtained from medical records and forensic medical examinations, grouped into four age categories. Three main injury mechanisms were established: falling from a moving vehicle, collision with a pedestrian, and collision with an automobile. It has been established that the nature and localization of bodily injuries depend on the type of vehicle, the child's age, speed of movement, and presence of personal protective equipment. For electric scooters, the most typical injuries are traumatic brain injury (72 %), neck injuries (75 %), and lower limb injuries (56 %), with fractures occurring in 66 % of cases. Hoverboards are characterized predominantly by upper limb injuries (48 %) resulting from falls with loss of balance, with significantly lower frequency of traumatic brain injury (26 %). Electric bicycles lead to chest injuries (75 %) due to higher speeds and the possibility of collision with other vehicles. Mathematical and biomechanical models have been developed using classical mechanics equations and the finite element method that allow prediction of the nature of injury depending on fall parameters, the child's anthropometric data, and the vehicle's technical characteristics. The height of the child's center of gravity above the scooter platform ranges from 0.65-0.75 m for children aged 4-6 years to 1.0-1.15 m for adolescents aged 14-18 years. A strong inverse correlation has been established between protective helmet use and the frequency of traumatic brain injury (r=-0.71 for electric scooters, r=-0.58 for hoverboards, p<0.001). The level of protective equipment use among children remains extremely low: only 12 % of children on electric scooters and 35 % on hoverboards used any protective equipment, with less than 5 % using complete protection sets. Age-related features of injury mechanisms were revealed: for children aged 4-6 years, exclusively falls at low speeds are characteristic (100 % of cases), whereas in adolescents aged 14-18 years, the frequency of collisions with automobiles increases (12 %) along with injury severity. A positive correlation between age and injury severity (r=0.68, p<0.01) is explained by higher speeds of movement of older children. Collision with automobiles represents the most severe injury mechanism with the highest lethality, associated mainly with severe traumatic brain injury (42 % of fatal cases), multiple trauma with massive blood loss (31 %), and internal organ damage (27 %). Modeling showed that helmet use reduces peak brain acceleration during impact by 40-60 %, significantly reducing the probability of severe traumatic brain injury, while knee pads and elbow pads reduce fracture risk by 35-45 %. The modeling results can be used in forensic medical practice for establishing injury mechanisms, determining accident circumstances, developing scientifically based preventive measures including age restrictions and mandatory use of protective equipment, and improving expert assessment of injury mechanisms in cases of accidents involving electric personal mobility devices in childhood.</jats:p>