Smart Helmets Research

Safety and equipment have come a long way in football in order to prevent brain injuries. A very important piece of equipment used to prevent brain trauma is the helmet. The helmet has evolved a lot over the years, even more in the past decade. The Helmets main purpose use to be just to stop skull fractures, then they added the facemask to prevent facial injuries. Concussions are more of a recent concern (Hand 1). Overconfidence in the helmets' protective power prompts many NFL athletes to deliver and accept hits that would have killed players of previous generations. Now the helmet is being revolutionized. Helmets aren't only being created to stop skull and face fractures but they are being created to help prevent brain damage such as concussions now. Helmets have gone through testing to see how to design a better preventative helmet. These newer helmets are being designed to reduce the amount of force that is being applied to the head by a hit that is received (Vandantam 2). Virginia Tech football has been monitoring helmet collisions since 2003, courtesy of Dr. Gunnar Brolinson. Dr. Gunnar Brolinson has outfitted the teams helmets with six sensors and a small antenna that records and transmits data to a computer on the sideline. This information collected is crucial because it will help find better ways to design a helmet that will prevent concussions(Goldman 1). Equipment isn't the only important part of football that can help prevent concussions.

Should people under the age of 18 be required to wear a protective helmet while skateboarding, in-line skating, bicycling, snowboarding and skiing? I believe truly believe so. The thrill in these activities, are to speed jump tricks and ride.

Every part of the game of football means very much to me, which is why I have a passion for the game and why I researched this topic. Helmets are one of the most important pieces of safety gear a football player can have. In October 2010, a new rule was signed off to be placed in the National Football League (NFL) rule book for the safety of NFL players. The helmet-to-helmet hit rule is as follow: using any part of the helmet to butt, spear, or ram any part of the opponent’s helmet (Azpiri). A helmet-to-helmet hit is illegal in the NFL now. The punishment for a helmet-to-helmet hit for a NFL player is being fine with a gradual increase the next times they do it and/or suspension depending on the

The issue of multiple concussions is finally becoming recognized by major sports. The awareness has led to a variety of interventions to help protect athletes. There have been two recent interventions concerning football helmets. First off, Riddell, a company that produces football helmets, has released a new helmet that is supposed to best prevent concussions. This helmet is known as the Revolution Speed. Using advanced technology, the Speed helmets were designed around the head 's center of gravity and include an uneven outer shell to help absorb a hit. The inside of the

There has been an increase in concussion research which has changed how helmets are designed. Despite improvements in helmet design over the years, traumatic brain injury cases (TBI) from heavy contact sports have increased drastically. Our football team cares a number of different helmets that are at the top of the research in protecting the athletes head. We carry the Riddell speed, flex and Schutt vengeance, Xenith X2E. These helmets are rated as the top four in safety. The speed, flex and vengeance are the most used by our football team. Not as many people on the team like the Xenith because it hard to get it to fit just right. Mack said the Xenith is the safest helmet because it suspends the head but is very hard to adjust but you never have to readjust it.

Helmets are a major guideline that needs to be improved because a helmet is there to protect the head and prevent concussions but it doesn't seem to be doing a good job. Now there's always that question of “why don't we just make the helmet better and more equipped to prevent concussions?”, well we've had football around for years now and if it hasn't been done yet I don't think it will ever be done. According to the North Eastern Undergraduate Writing Journal, since the 1970s, helmets have been made with a polycarbonate shell, a steel face mask, and padding which is just foam and inflatable air bladders. Even though modern helmets maybe more

Statistics have proven that about 300,000 cases are reported annually, many of which are high school students due to sports or strenuous activities. Many coaches could argue that technology has given us the ability to create helmets that could ultimately absorb the shock impacts from a blow to the

In source B it states “ Concussion Rates per Sport: Football: 64 -76.8, Boys' ice hockey: 54.”. Sports like football, and ice hockey include a lot of contact whether with your teammates or the other teams. These sports have the highest concussion rates. If athletes were to wear better protective headgear than what they already have, concussion rates will decrease. Furthermore, in source A it states “ Now, a team of engineers and physicians at Stanford has provided the first-ever measurements of all the acceleration forces imparted on the brain during a diagnosed concussion. The findings could lead to better injury detection, or toward developing safer protective gear.”. Physicians are finding new ways to develop injury detections, and safer protective gear. This is the future of sport protective headgear. With safer headgear and a better understanding of concussions, concussion rates will

“NFL helmets will never be 100% safe and players with never be 100% safe from concussions. In the article he claims,”We’re expecting a mere 1.5 inches of foam and candy shell to decelerate a player’s head gently enough to prevent their brain from bouncing around inside their skull and causing poorly understood, but permanent and devastating injury. After talking to some of the brightest minds in helmet design, helmet testing and football physics, the elephant in the room became clear: A concussion-proof helmet is a pipe dream. If the NFL wants concussion-free football, they’ll need to redesign

It's on the news alot lately. It hasn’t been taken seriously until recently and it seeming to hurt a multi-billion dollar industry. It can change a person's life forever. It’s called a concussion, a disease that occurs from multiple impacts to the head or one very big impact to the head. Even with the NFL, sport leagues and colleges taking safely precautions, is it enough to stop it.

Many things should be done in relation to the prevention of collisions potentially leading to different brain diseases, disorders, or syndromes. The football helmets should be reevaluated,reassessed, and redesigned to prevent mTBI, mild traumatic brain injuries, such as subconcussive injuries that play a huge deal in what causes CTE. In agreement with Dr. Andrew McIntosh, helmets can prevent skull fractures and intracranial hemorrhage, but they are not designed to prevent mTBI. Also, have youth leagues implement stricter rules, apply the same rules in the NFL in league games or even practices. For example, spearing, when a player uses the helmet/head as the first point of contact with another player, was banned in American

It has some of the newest technology that is available to the sport. Some of the helmets on tv watching college and professional football. The players mostly receivers, quarterbacks and running backs have them they are a almost hexagon looking in shape on the front top of the helmet where your forehead is. This is a concussion helmet it absorbs some of the hit just as shoulder pads do. Also they fit the helmets loser now so when you get hit it also absorbs some of the shock.

Football can be a very dangerous sport. And although those who play the game believe that they are being protected by the helmets that they wear, the truth is that this may not be the case. In a recent study released by the American Academy of Neurology it has been found that “protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for young players, including elementary and middle school, high school and college athletes, whose still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma”(Science Daily, 2014). The study also found that standard football helmets worn by the majority of players on the field today, only reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet at all (Science Daily, 2014).

There has been extraordinary improvements of helmets from the old leather to the modernized-plastic football helmets along with the face mask and energy- absorbent padding. In addition, the concern over preventing concussions, have led to helmet changes, impact testing methods and reconstruction of injuries during play helping to provide insight on concussions(4). Helmets have been successful in decreasing the risk of traumatic brain injuries, but there is much concern over concussion; therefore, scholars argue the importance of technology development to address concussion(5). As the author(s), David Viano and David Halstead discusses, there is room needed for understanding the types of collisions associated in youths and the impact condition addressing collisions. There are many variables to consider addressing concussion and where they occur.

Since in soure one,"Weighing the Risks",discusses that they get head injuries from having a helmet-to-helmet contact,they are working on more padding. The reason being is so football players don't get the CTE disease. The disease can possibly be deadly as it removes tissue from the brain. The reason how is by the hard impact. In source two, it gives us a visual of what the new gear/padding will be like. The caption states that the US Army Research Laboratory is going to add straps. These straps will make sure there is minimum head motion to avoid brain injuries. Even though footall is a violent game,they are working to make is safer so less players will die or get