Advanced Bicycle Helmet Technology for Prevention of Traumatic Brain Injury

描述（由申请人提供）： 创伤性脑损伤（TBI）是一种获得性神经系统疾病，可导致长期残疾，治疗选择有限。因此，在高风险活动中必须强调预防策略，以减少这种普遍伤害的个人和社会负担。自行车活动占所有与运动有关的TBI的20%，在美国每年有42，000人受伤。为了减轻这些头部损伤的发生率和严重程度，头盔的使用现在是习惯性的，在一些州是强制性的。然而，当代自行车头盔并没有被设计成减轻旋转头部加速度，这是TBI的明显物理机制。因此，提出了一种使用高冲击速度工程（HIVE）技术的新型头盔，其整合了材料科学的最新进展，以在轻质和成本有效的设计中提供上级能量吸收。HIVE头盔的一个关键创新是其结构特性表现得类似于扭转弹簧和阻尼器，从而使HIVE头盔能够衰减严重的头部角加速度。本研究的具体目的是确定与标准头盔相比，HIVE头盔是否可以显著降低TBI的风险。HIVE头盔和标准头盔的机械测试将使用倾斜头盔测试台进行，该测试台可以测量垂直和倾斜冲击期间的线性和角加速度。由此产生的运动学数据将被输入到一个建立的计算模型，预测TBI的风险。将对两个头盔组的力学和计算结果进行统计学比较。如果成功的话，HIVE头盔将为骑自行车的人提供先进的头部保护，并有可能减少与自行车有关的TBI的发生率。 公共卫生相关性： 在美国，每年发生42，000例与自行车相关的创伤性脑损伤（TBI），相关的社会成本为25亿美元。尽管自行车头盔应该提供明确的预防策略以减少自行车相关的TBI，但是现代自行车头盔并没有被设计成减弱旋转头部加速度，旋转头部加速度是TBI的主要物理机制。提出了一种头盔冲击缓解技术，其吸收旋转能量，并且因此将潜在地降低与自行车相关的TBI的高发生率。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an acquired neurological disorder that can cause long-lasting disability with limited treatment options. Therefore preventative strategies must be emphasized in high-risk activities to reduce the individual and societal burden of this pervasive injury. Bicycle activities account for 20 percent of all sports-related TBI, with 42,000 annual injuries in the U.S.. In an effort to alleviate the incidence and severity of these head injuries, helmet usage is now customary, and in some States mandatory. However, contemporary bicycle helmets are not designed to mitigate rotational head acceleration, which is a clear physical mechanism of TBI. A novel helmet using High Impact Velocity Engineering (HIVE) technology is therefore proposed that integrates recent advances in material science to provide superior energy absorption in a lightweight and cost-effective design. A key innovation of the HIVE helmet is that its structural properties behave similar to a torsional spring and damper, and thus enable the HIVE helmet to attenuate severe angular head accelerations. The specific aim of this study is to determine whether the HIVE helmet can significantly reduce the risk of TBI compared to standard helmets. Mechanical testing of HIVE helmets and standard helmets will be performed with an oblique helmet testing rig that can measure linear and angular acceleration during vertical and oblique impacts. The resulting kinematic data will be input into an established computational model that predicts the risk of TBI. Mechanical and computational results of the two helmets groups will be statistically compared. If successful, the HIVE helmet will offer advanced head protection for bicyclists, and potentially reduce the incidence of bicycle-related TBI. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: There are 42,000 bicycle-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) that occur annually in the U.S. with an associated societal cost of $2.5 billion. Although bicycle helmets should offer a clear preventative strategy to reduce bicycle- related TBI, contemporary bicycle helmets are not engineered to atenuate rotational head acceleration, a primary physical mechanism of TBI. A helmet impact mitigation technology is proposed that absorbs rotational energy, and therefore will potentially reduce the high incidence of bicycle-related TBI.