Advanced materials for head and body protection to decrease the risk of head trauma in youth ice hockey

冰球被公认为加拿大的国家冬季运动，在世界上70多个国家开展。在加拿大的637，000名注册球员中，548，469名是青年，88，541名是年轻女孩。安全的体育锻炼在青少年的发展中具有良好的身体，精神和社会效益，但也有脑损伤的风险。在加拿大，冰球运动导致的脑损伤患者数量最多，其中大多数是儿童和青少年。青年脑创伤已成为一个公共卫生问题，因为有证据表明，脑创伤与不良心理健康结果、学习成绩和社会发展之间存在急性和慢性关系。这些风险与影响的程度和频率有关，表现为大脑功能，连接，激活和认知的变化。考虑到曲棍球在年轻人中的流行，必须努力减少与脑损伤相关的个人和经济成本。虽然头盔和保护垫的设计有所改进，但青少年冰球运动中的脑震荡发生率仍然不受影响，这是根据成人特定参数设计的标准和设备的结果。研究表明，与成年人相比，青年人，特别是女孩，更容易因低能量影响而受到脑损伤。青少年冰球运动中头部撞击的质量、速度和顺应性尚未被定义或应用于为这些运动员制定更安全的保护措施。头盔和身体设备测试方法使用冲击频率，位置，质量，速度和顺应性来测量冰球中年龄组，性别和竞争水平的脑创伤。也没有为降低青少年运动员头部创伤风险而设计的防护设备（头盔、护肩和护肘）。拟议的研究将弥补这一知识差距，提供创新，以减少青年头部创伤的风险。这项研究将提供CCM：（1）针对男孩和女孩青少年冰球的头盔和身体防护设备创新;（2）防护设备的性能测量测试协议;（3）提高对青少年冰球脑损伤机制的理解。

Ice hockey is recognized as Canada's national winter sport and played in over 70 countries around the world. Of the 637,000 registered players in Canada, 548,469 are youth, 88,541 are young girls. Safe physical exercise has well documented physical, mental and social benefits in the development of youth, however comes with a risk for brain injury. In Canada, ice hockey sends the largest number of patients to the hospital for sports related brain injuries, most of whom are children and adolescents. Brain trauma in youth has become a public health concern as evidence establishing acute and chronic relationships between head trauma and poor mental health outcomes, scholastic performance and social development continue to grow. These risks associate with both the magnitude and frequency of impact, manifested by changes in brain function, connectivity, activation and cognition. Considering the popularity of hockey among youth, it is imperative that efforts be taken to reduce the personal and economic costs associated with brain injuries. While helmet and protective padding designs have improved, concussion incidence in youth ice hockey has remained unaffected, the result of standards and equipment designed from adult specific parameters. Research identifies youth, particularly girls, as being susceptible to brain injury from lower energy impacts compared to adults. Mass, velocity, and compliance of head impacts in youth ice hockey have not been defined or applied to develop safer protection for these players. Helmet and body equipment test methods using impact frequency, location, mass, velocity, and compliance to measure brain trauma for age group, gender, and competitive level in ice hockey do not exist. Protective equipment (helmets, shoulder & elbow pads) designed to decrease risk of head trauma in youth players also do not exist. The proposed research will remedy this knowledge gap, providing innovations to decrease head trauma risk in youth. This research will provide CCM: (1) helmet and body protective equipment innovations specific to boys and girls youth ice hockey; (2) performance measurement test protocols for protective equipment; (3) improved understanding of brain injury mechanism in youth ice hockey.