The results revealed that the helmet with liquid shock absorbers might considerably minimize impact severity and stress on the brain triggered by head impacts, possibly significantly cutting injuries. The helmet with liquid shock absorbers carried out much better than the existing helmet designs, producing the most affordable HARM worth in 33 out of 36 different impact conditions checked, with a typical reduction in rating of a 3rd. The liquid helmet likewise had the best Helmet Performance Score, a step utilized in the NFLs annual helmet security rankings, which includes a weighting for how well a helmet secures versus blows in different locations of the head.
They also prepare to establish the model into a physical helmet that could be checked in real-life conditions, and in the future to produce comparable helmets for other sports. We have plans to expand our execution of liquid shock absorbers to more locations of the helmet, and more helmeted applications, to additional improve brain safety for a large range of populations.”.
A helmet featuring liquid shock absorbers, established by Stanford scientists and Savior Brain, might substantially lower sports-related head injuries. In simulated NFL tests, this novel helmet outshined existing designs and significantly lowered effect scores.
A helmet geared up with liquid shock absorbers could possibly decrease the danger of distressing brain injuries in contact sports.
In the United States, sports activities result in millions of concussions annually. Professional athletes associated with sports such as American football are specifically susceptible to injuries that can possibly lead to extreme long-lasting effects.
In reaction to this problem, scientists at Stanford University, in cooperation with Savior Brain, have created a possible secure: a helmet equipped with liquid shock absorbers. This innovative design could minimize the effect of blows to the head by a 3rd.
” Most of the members of our group have a personal connection to traumatic brain injury and we care deeply about making sure long-term professional athlete brain health,” said Nicholas Cecchi, a PhD prospect at Stanford University and lead author of the study in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. “Concussion and repetitive head impacts are still a major issue in contact sports, and we believe that improved helmet technology can play an essential function in lowering the threat of brain injury.”
Damage reduction
Previous research by the Camarillo Lab at Stanford University had suggested that liquid shock absorbers might provide enhanced defense in sports helmets. To examine this, the team developed a finite component design, used by engineers to imitate performance before manufacturing, of an American football helmet incorporating 21 liquid shock absorbers.
This helmet was tested against simulations of the helmet performance assessment protocol utilized by the National Football League (NFL), its efficiency compared to that of 4 existing helmets. Due to the installing evidence that the cumulative impact of effects which dont trigger identified concussions can also have severe health consequences, the team added lower velocity effects to the assessment procedure.
They determined the head kinematics for each impact to produce a Head Accelerate Response Metric (HARM) rating, which is used to evaluate helmet performance under impact. The kinematics were likewise fed into a design of the head and brain to evaluate the resulting strain on the brain.
Decreasing effect by 33%.
The outcomes revealed that the helmet with liquid shock absorbers could drastically reduce effect seriousness and stress on the brain brought on by head effects, possibly considerably cutting injuries. The helmet with liquid shock absorbers performed much better than the existing helmet models, producing the lowest HARM worth in 33 out of 36 different impact conditions evaluated, with a typical reduction in rating of a third. The liquid helmet also had the best Helmet Performance Score, a measure utilized in the NFLs annual helmet safety rankings, that includes a weighting for how well a helmet secures against blows in various areas of the head.
The highest-weighted location is the side upper portion of the helmet due to the fact that impacts here are probably to cause concussions: the helmet with liquid shock absorbers minimized the HARM score in this area by 39-50% across all effect speeds without jeopardizing security in other locations of the helmet.
” The liquid technology used an average enhancement of over 30% for both low and high speeds,” stated Dr. Yuzhe Liu, matching author, who finished the work as a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. “It can dramatically lower the loading on the brain that is experienced during all sort of American football impacts.”.
The group means to establish the model significantly to secure gamers much better– for example by including enhancements to the facemask and chinstrap. They also prepare to establish the design into a physical helmet that could be checked in real-life conditions, and in the future to produce similar helmets for other sports. Different levels of play or various sports might require evaluation by various metrics and style redevelopment.
” The next action for our team is to equate the computer system model to a physical model,” stated Cecchi. “After successfully completing that, we would likewise have an interest in performing human studies that might demonstrate either a decrease in concussion incidence or an attenuation of impact intensity for sub-concussive impacts. We have plans to expand our execution of liquid shock absorbers to more areas of the helmet, and more helmeted applications, to further enhance brain safety for a large range of populations.”.
Recommendation: “Finite component examination of an American football helmet featuring liquid shock absorbers for protecting versus subconcussive and concussive head effects” by Nicholas J. Cecchi, Hossein Vahid Alizadeh, Yuzhe Liu and David B. Camarillo, 9 June 2023, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.DOI: 10.3389/ fbioe.2023.1160387.
The study was moneyed by the NIH Small Business Innovation Research and the National Science Foundation.