Combat Helmet Design Incorporating Multiple Ballistic Threats, Brain Functional Areas and Injury Considerations

Author(s):  
Peter Matic ◽  
Alex E. Moser ◽  
Robert N. Saunders

Combat helmet protection zone parametric design is presented for small arms and explosive device ballistic threat notional spatial distributions. The analysis is conducted using a computer aided design software application developed to evaluate ballistic threats, helmet design parameters, and a standard set of common brain injuries associated with head impacts. The analysis helps to define the helmet trade space, facilitates prototyping, and supports helmet design optimization. Direct head impacts and helmet impacts, with and without helmet back face contact to the head, are tabulated. Head strikes are assumed to produce critical or fatal penetrating injuries. Helmet back face deflections and impact generated projectile-helmet-head motions are determined. Helmet impact obliquity is accounted for by attenuating back face deflection. Head injury estimates for ten common focal and diffuse head injuries are determined from the back face deflections and the head injury criteria. These, in turn, are related to the abbreviated injury score and associated radiographic dimensional diagnostic criteria and loss of consciousness diagnostic criteria from the trauma literature.

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 494-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan M. Haltiner ◽  
Nancy R. Temkin ◽  
H. Richard Winn ◽  
Sureyya S. Dikmen

AbstractThis study examined the relationship of posttraumatic seizures and head injury severity to neuropsychological performance and psychosocial functioning in 210 adults who were prospectively followed and assessed 1 year after moderate to severe traumatic head injury. Eighteen percent (n = 38) of the patients experienced 1 or more late seizures (i.e., seizures occurring 8 or more days posttrauma) by the time of the 1-year followup. As expected, the head injured patients who experienced late posttraumatic seizures were those with the most severe head injuries, and they were significantly more impaired on the neuropsychological and psychosocial measures compared to those who remained seizure free. However, after the effects of head injury severity were controlled, there were no significant differences in neuropsychological and psychosocial outcome at 1 year as a function of having seizures. These findings suggest that worse outcomes in patients who develop posttraumatic seizures up to 1 year posttrauma largely reflect the effects of the brain injuries that cause seizures, rather than the effect of seizures. (JINS, 1996, 2, 494–504.)


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan L. Bland ◽  
Craig McNally ◽  
Steven Rowson

Cycling is a leading cause of sport-related head injuries in the U.S. Although bicycle helmets must comply with standards limiting head acceleration in severe impacts, helmets are not evaluated under more common, concussive-level impacts, and limited data are available indicating which helmets offer superior protection. Further, standards evaluate normal impacts, while real-world cyclist head impacts are oblique—involving normal and tangential velocities. The objective of this study was to investigate differences in protective capabilities of ten helmet models under common real-world accident conditions. Oblique impacts were evaluated through drop tests onto an angled anvil at common cyclist head impact velocities and locations. Linear and rotational accelerations were evaluated and related to concussion risk, which was then correlated with design parameters. Significant differences were observed in linear and rotational accelerations between models, producing concussion risks spanning >50% within single impact configurations. Risk differences were more attributable to linear acceleration, as rotational varied less between models. At the temporal location, shell thickness, vent configuration, and radius of curvature were found to influence helmet effective stiffness. This should be optimized to reduce impact kinematics. At the frontal, helmet rim location, liner thickness tapered off for some helmets, likely due to lack of standards testing at this location. This is a frequently impacted location for cyclists, suggesting that the standards testable area should be expanded to include the rim. These results can inform manufacturers, standards bodies, and consumers alike, aiding the development of improved bicycle helmet safety.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Shence Wang ◽  
Deshun Liu ◽  
Zhihua Cai

The human head will inevitably impact on the panel causing injury due to the inertia during dump truck collisions or emergency braking. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the effects of panel design parameters on occupant head injuries via simulations using finite element (FE) models of a human head and a dump truck cockpit. Special focus was applied to understand how panel type (soft and hard), elastic modulus of the filling and frame, and the fixing distance for the soft panel could affect head injuries in head-to-panel impacts under different impact conditions (impact speed and location). Simulation results show that a soft panel is beneficial for head protection in impacts with the truck instrument panel, and a soft panel using a lower filling elastic modulus, lower frame elastic modulus, and longer fixing distance is helpful for head injury prevention. The findings also indicate that the head peak acceleration and maximum skull stress are more sensitive to the fixing distance and elastic modulus of frame than elastic modulus of the filling of the panel. Moreover, these trends are not affected by changing the impact speed and impact location. The findings of this study suggest that a safer panel design for head injury prevention should firstly have a long fixing distance and then followed by using softer filling and frame materials.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-33
Author(s):  
Donny Valensius Susanto ◽  
Trijoso Permono

ABSTRACT Introduction. Incidence of head injuries is also quite high in Indonesia, around 1.4 million cases per year with a mortality rate of 15-20% in the population aged 5 to 35 years. Head injuries are commonly divided into two separate time periods namely primary and secondary brain injuries. Primary brain injury is physical damage to the parenchyma (tissue and blood vessels) that occurs during a traumatic event, thus causing compression of the surrounding brain tissue. Secondary brain injury is a continuation of the results of primary brain injury with the main complications of brain injury in the following hours and days. This study was aimed to asses the benefits of administration of mannitol in cases of severe head injury in South Sumatra, Indonesia. Methods. This research was a clinical trial without comparison by looking at hematocrit levels in patients with severe head injuries with intracranial hypertension before and after given mannitol therapy. Data analysis was performed with IBM SPSS Version 23. Data was presented in the form of narrative tables. Then the paired T test was performed. P value <0.05. Results. From 39 research subjects, the age of the subjects ranged between 6-88 years with an average of 33 years. Based on sex there were 28 male sufferers (71.8%) and there were 11 female sufferers 28.2%. GCS varies from 3 to GCS 8 intra-cranial abnormalities. From 39 research subjects with severe head injury without surgery, a hematocrit examination was performed before, after 10 minutes and 6 hours of injection of mannitol bolus 1 g / kg body weight. It was obtained that averaged hematocrit before mannitol  administration was 34, after  10 minutes was 33 and after 6 hours was 35. Conclusion. There is a decrease in hematocrit levels after administration of bolus mannitol 1 g / kg BW at the beginning of mannitol administration and hematocrit will increase again after 6 hours of mannitol administration


Author(s):  
Joy Helena Wymer B.S.

Each year approximately 2 million people in the United States suffer closed head injuries (CHI); approximately 500,000 are severe enough to require hospitalization (Brown, Fann & Grant, 1994). Other researchers have estimated the incidence of CHI in the United States at over 9 million (Miller & Berenguer-Gil, 1994). CHI account for about 10% of all emergency room visits (Sherer, Madison & Hannay, 2000). This number has recently decreased, possibly due to decreased hospitalization of individuals with mild brain injuries. According to the National Head Injury and Spinal Injury Survey of 1980, the typical male is four times more likely to experience a head injury than a female (Kalsbeek, McLaughlin, Harris & Miller, 1980). Men are believed to sustain more head injuries because they have been found to be greater risk-takers, more likely to be engaged in potentially dangerous work, more impulsive, and more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs. Alcohol is reported to be involved in 30% of head injuries suffered by males and 10% of those suffered by females (Bennett, 1987).


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (21) ◽  
pp. 1332-1332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margot Putukian ◽  
Ruben J Echemendia ◽  
George Chiampas ◽  
Jiri Dvorak ◽  
Bert Mandelbaum ◽  
...  

There has been an increased focus and awareness of head injury and sport-related concussion (SRC) across all sports from the medical and scientific communities, sports organisations, legislators, the media and the general population. Soccer, in particular, has been a focus of attention due to the popularity of the game, the frequency of SRC and the hypothesised effects of repetitive heading of the ball. Major League Soccer, US Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League jointly hosted a conference entitled, ‘Head Injury in Soccer: From Science to the Field’, on 21–22 April 2017 in New York City, New York. The mission of this conference was to identify, discuss and disseminate evidence-based science related to the findings and conclusions of the fifth International Conference on Concussion in Sport held by the Concussion in Sport Group and apply them to the sport of soccer. In addition, we reviewed information regarding the epidemiology and mechanism of head injuries in soccer at all levels of play, data regarding the biomechanics and effects of repetitive head impacts and other soccer-specific considerations. We discussed how to release the information raised during the summit to key stakeholders including athletes, parents, coaches and healthcare providers. We identified future areas for research and collaboration to enhance the health and safety of soccer (football) players.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 232-236
Author(s):  
Yuhesh Somasundaram ◽  
Amritha Sulthana ◽  
Shankar Subramanian ◽  
Manoharan Chellasamy

One of the most common injuries and death in India are caused by falling from heights. Although a majority of these bereavements are accidental and are due to a slip from higher altitudes like multi storey buildings, trees, construction sites, etc., alcohol consumption also plays a vital role. In such occurrences of death due to falling from heights, head injury is a very common phenomenon and it complicates the investigation procedure for the investigators and the medico legal experts to arrive at a conclusion because these injuries impersonate the injuries sustained from other accident cases like a road accident per say. Due to the absence of eyewitness in most of these cases, a detailed analysis on the pattern and the nature of the injuries is required to arrive at a conclusion. These injuries sustained vary owing to the site of impact and the stature from where the victim had fallen and the critical answer to the medico legal queries lies in a detailed autopsy of the victim’s body and a thorough examination at the scene of occurrence. On the account of a comprehensive study insufficiency in Tamilnadu, a modest attempt was made to analyse the pattern of head injuries sustained on the victims of fall from different heights and is presented as a cross- sectional study.The case study on the fatal incidents of fall from height was recorded and analysed statically in a sampling of one hundred cases which was subjected to detailed autopsy in a tertiary care hospital. In this analysis the nature and pattern of injuries, data regarding the nature of fall, the site of primary impact, period of survival and a detailed examination of head injuries were all noted. The statistical analysis was carried out using Microsoft Excel 2009.From the analysis, it is observed that the maximum number of fall from height cases seemed to be from the age group of 31 years ~40 years (30%) and males contributed to a majority of these cases (90%). Amongst head injury cases, 82% of the cases had intracranial haemorrhage and 10% had facial bone fractures. In the 82% of cases, 76% of cases had both subarachnoid haemorrhage and subdural haemorrhage. Also skull fracture was seen in 40% of the cases and the base of the skull fracture was noted almost equally in 37% of the cases. Injuries to head and cervical spine constituted to the salient features of primary head impacts, SAH alone is rare in such cases.On the account of observation and analysis, it is noted that most of these cases were accidental in nature (93%) and Males (90%) in the age group of 31-40 years were in highest number (30%). Cranial injuries with subarachnoid and subdural haemorrhage seemed to be the most common cause of death amongst victims falling from heights. Also skull fracture were seen in 40% of the cases and base of skull fracture noted almost equally in 37% of the cases. While SAH alone in rare in these cases, injuries to head and cervical spine were the key impacts of primary head impacts.


Author(s):  
Robert Saunders ◽  
Alex Moser ◽  
Peter Matic

Assessing combat helmet ballistic performance is a costly endeavor using either an experimental or a computational process. Experimental assessment requires many iterations and helmets to acquire a sufficient data set. To circumvent this, computational simulation is incorporated into the design process to supplement a few experiments. However, due to the complex constitutive response of the helmet (anisotropic elasticity, plasticity, damage initiation and evolution, and failure), it is computationally costly to run many ballistic impact simulations. The goal of this work is to develop a computer-aided design (cad) software to rapidly analyze combat helmets undergoing a ballistic impact. The software considers a representative mix of potential threats, helmet geometry modifications and additions, brain functional anatomy, and injury considerations. The resulting software demonstrates that a given helmet can be analyzed in a matter of minutes on a standard desktop computer and parametric studies can be completed in a matter of hours. The results of the cad software show how helmet design parameters such as helmet shell materials, geometry, and ceramic appliques all affect helmet ballistic performance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Elspeth Steenstrup ◽  
Arnhild Bakken ◽  
Tone Bere ◽  
Declan Alexander Patton ◽  
Roald Bahr

IntroductionHead injuries represent a concern in skiing and snowboarding, with traumatic brain injuries being the most common cause of death.AimTo describe the mechanisms of head and face injuries among World Cup alpine and freestyle skiers and snowboarders.MethodsWe performed a qualitative analysis of videos obtained of head and face injuries reported through the International Ski Federation Injury Surveillance System during 10 World Cup seasons (2006–2016). We analysed 57 head impact injury videos (alpine n=29, snowboard n=13, freestyle n=15), first independently and subsequently in a consensus meeting.ResultsDuring the crash sequence, most athletes (84%) impacted the snow with the skis or board first, followed by the upper or lower extremities, buttocks/pelvis, back and, finally, the head. Alpine skiers had sideways (45%) and backwards pitching falls (35%), with impacts to the rear (38%) and side (35%) of the helmet. Freestyle skiers and snowboarders had backwards pitching falls (snowboard 77%, freestyle 53%), mainly with impacts to the rear of the helmet (snowboard 69%, freestyle 40%). There were three helmet ejections among alpine skiers (10% of cases), and 41% of alpine skiing injuries occurred due to inappropriate gate contact prior to falling. Athletes had one (47%) or two (28%) head impacts, and the first impact was the most severe (71%). Head impacts were mainly on snow (83%) on a downward slope (63%).ConclusionThis study has identified several characteristics of the mechanisms of head injuries, which may be addressed to reduce risk.


Res Medica ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-95
Author(s):  
Gregory J Tierney ◽  
Ciaran K Simms

Due to the physical and high-impact nature of rugby, head impacts can occur within the game which can result in concussion injuries as well as other moderate-to-severe head injuries 1. Concussion has been defined as “a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces”1 and was found to be one of the more common brain injuries throughout the world.2 This is particularly true in sport; it has been estimated that over half of all concussions are sports related.3 A systematic review of the incidence of concussion in contact sports found that rugby union has a higher incidence rate compared with other sports such as American football and soccer.4 Unlike other sports injuries, detecting a concussion is difficult as the neuropathological changes cannot be recognized on standard neuroimaging technology.5,6 \Therefore, if a player is suspected of having a concussion, they are removed from play for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA). The HIA is a standardized tool for the medical assessment of concussion injuries in rugby and aims to improve detection and patient education.7 The HIA assesses a range of degenerative concussive symptoms including memory, cognitive ability, balance and player discomfort. This concussion diagnosis protocol therefore relies heavily on side-line medical staff to identify if a player is exhibiting concussive symptoms. A major disadvantage to this is that concussion has a variable natural history, with transient, fluctuating, delayed and evolving signs or symptoms.8) This means that symptoms can take up to 48 hours to become apparent.8 It has therefore been acknowledged that the content of the HIA will be modified as the research around concussion diagnosis evolves.8 The reliance on side-line medical staff to accurately identify concussive symptoms means that there is a possibility a concussed player may remain on the field; this is one problem that biomechanical research into concussion is trying to overcome.  This study will give an overview of concussion in rugby union with a focus on incidence, severity and protection strategies. It will discuss current biomechanical research and further biomechanical research required in the area of concussion injuries in rugby union.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document