Football Helmet’s Unexpected Role

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A smart data collection technology may help soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Soldiers injured during military training or operation may be subject to mild TBIs – injuries that do not present obvious signs of head trauma or facial lacerations, and therefore they are the most difficult type to diagnose at the time of the injury and patients themselves may perceive the impact as mild or harmless.  However, treating a patient within the “golden hour” – the first 60 minutes after being injured – is crucial for improved long-term recovery.

Dr. Jie Huang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Missouri S&T, is developing a technology that enables autonomous collection and processing of data – pertaining to trauma-inducing actions – in a reliable and “smart” manner for prompt identification.

The research that aims at developing a “smart helmet” is supported by a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory through the Leonard Wood Institute (LWI), and the Acute Effects of Neurotrama Consortium (AENC).  

By embedding military helmets with sensors and other data-transmission technologies, the researchers aim to help accurately diagnose and administer aid to mild TBI victims.  At first, the team will use a football smart-helmet prototype.

“Our aim is to develop a fundamental understanding of acute TBIs through large-scale data acquisition of blast lab impact events from pressure-sensor-equipped helmets processed through machine learning,” says Huang. “Military-related TBIs come primarily from repeated exposures to explosive blasts during planned training activities. Blast TBIs account for approximately 60 percent of all military-related TBIs, of which 80 percent are categorized as mild.”

The football smart-helmet prototype will be equipped with fiber optic micro interferometer sensors. The sensors will be activated by blunt-force impacts that range from 3-15 on the Glasgow Coma Scale. Once it is developed, Huang will correlate laboratory testing data with field data and improve the overall configuration of the helmets, according to news.mst.edu.

“Our research project will use advanced optical fiber sensors, embedded in smart helmets, to instantly warn soldiers of the severity of a concussive event in the field so that treatment can be sought immediately,” says Huang. “Such a framework, with the ability to yield highly accurate predictions, will mitigate a soldier’s suffering and save medical personnel’s time.”