Dynamics of Head Impacts in Ice Hockey

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The proposed 5-year program of biomechanics research involves an integrated series of field and laboratory studies to improve our understanding of the dynamics of head impacts and injuries in hockey, and to use that information to design safer shoulder padding and dasher boards for players at various ages and skill levels. Our work involves key partners, and will train two Ph.D. students in the science and engineering of product design for injury prevention.***Under Aim 1, we will establish a "community of practice" for our engineering design projects, consisting of researchers, coaches, players, parents, and hockey association administrators. These stakeholders will participate throughout the project in designing, executing and disseminating our results, to inform and increase the impact of our efforts.***Under Aim 2, we will work with the SFU hockey team and elite (checking) teams in the BC Pacific Coast Hockey association (with players aged 13-19) to record collisions in games and scrimmages, using networks of digital video cameras and wearable sensors (mounted on helmets and equipment). These data will be analyzed to identify the range of head accelerations, and initial and boundary conditions (impact velocities and body segment configurations) involved in shoulder-to-head and head-to-board collisions.***Under Aim 3, we will conduct laboratory experiments to examine how the severity of impacts to the head and shoulder is affected by current and novel types of shoulder pads and boards. In experiments with human participants, we will measure body segment movements, head accelerations, and impact forces while participants deliver "comfortable" shoulder checks to an instrumented dummy, and to instrumented boards. We will conduct impact testing of shoulder pads and boards with mechanical test rigs that simulate the dynamics of head and shoulder impacts in hockey. We will also develop and utilize mathematical and models to examine the theoretical effect on impact severity of impact velocity, mass, and the stiffness and damping of shoulder pads and boards. Our design goal for shoulder pads is to minimize head accelerations to the opposing player during shoulder-to-head collisions, while also providing acceptable reduction of force to the shoulder of the player who delivers the check. We will compare commercially available shoulder pads to novel hard and soft shell designs of varying elastic and loss modulus, thickness and surface geometry. We will focus on evaluating the effect on impact severity of foam layers over the shoulder pads, that could be integrated into jerseys. Our design criteria for dasher boards and glass is to minimize peak head accelerations during impact to the boards, while allowing for adequate puck travel and rebound. We will compare standard dasher boards to a novel board design containing adjustable stiffness elements between inner facing panels and outer support posts and panels.**