I-Corps: Improving bicycle helmets for children

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发适合儿童的自行车头盔。这项拟议的努力旨在减少头部受伤。儿童使用不合适的头盔会导致更大的受伤风险，如脑震荡和头部受伤。这项创新还有可能在其他需要头盔和其他形式的个人防护装备的应用中提高适合性、合规性和安全性，并可能对建筑工人、应急人员、军事人员和其他运动项目中的运动员有用。这个i-Corps项目基于使用3D扫描、表面生成、细观结构设计、有限元分析(FEA)开发的适合儿童的自行车头盔。这项技术还可能导致个人防护装备产品开发的新方法。拟议的工艺和技术涉及可重复和添加制造的热塑性介观结构，与用于头盔的传统泡沫塑料相比，具有相当或更好的抗冲击性。附加制造的中观结构可能会带来更个性化的适合性，绕过缓慢的传统头盔设计和制造工艺，并允许提供负担得起的更安全、定制的头盔。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of properly fitted bicycle helmets for children. The proposed effort seeks to reduce head injuries. The use of poorly fitting helmets by children results in greater risk of injuries such as concussion and head injuries. This innovation also has the potential to improve fit, compliance, and safety in other applications that require helmets and other forms of personal protective equipment and may be useful for construction workers, emergency responders, military personnel, and athletes in other sports.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a bicycle helmet fit for children using 3D scanning, surface generation, mesostructure design, finite element analysis (FEA). This technology may also result in new methods of product development for personal protective equipment. The proposed process and technology involves thermoplastic mesostructures that can be repeated and additively manufactured, with comparable or improved impact resistance compared to the traditional foams used in helmets. Additively manufactured mesostructures may result in a more personalized fit, circumventing slow, traditional helmet design and manufacturing processes and allowing for a safer, bespoke helmet that is affordable.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.