Ford's Injury-A challange for Tech Engineers

[71YellowJacket]

Ford\'s Injury-A challange for Tech Engineers

I have never posted the same subject here as on the Hive, but I thought this one should be an exception:

It's a shame to see such a promising career ending prematurely. There are way too many career's ending because of head injuries.

Fellow Tech grads, it's past due for a safer helmet that works without looking like the head off the stay puff marshmellow man.

Break out the sliderules gentlemen (I'm dating myself) and let's be the source of a solution.

No one said it would be easy, but this ain't UGA.

 

[law_bee]

Re: Ford\'s Injury-A challange for Tech Engineers

this game is changing before our eyes. With the proliferation of supplements (even the legal ones) and weight training the physicality of the athlete is exceeding the equipment.

I don't know if there is going to be a solution. Noone spends more then the automotive industry yet people are dying everyday in auto accidents.

Ironically the same thing that makes one player safe (sturdy helmet) provides a weapon for the defensive player.

I am not a parent (yet) however I am not sure I would want my high school son to play football. When you see 18 y/o's making impact on the college level then you know there are vicious hits being delivered every friday night.

A friend of mine actually attempted to do some testing on the effects of H.S. football playing on the brain (in valdosta) but this study was shut down promptly when word leaked out.

Any time you have MONEY involved there is always going to be an evolution. I feel that it will only be a matter of time before this becomes a prominent issue.

Bigger, stronger, and faster CANNOT possibly be safer.

 

[ramblinwise1]

Re: Ford\'s Injury-A challange for Tech Engineers

I feel like you hit on a key point, and that is the helmet being used as a weapon. The better the helmet gets at protecting the head, the harder the players hit and the weak link moves to the neck...

It would seem that a key design feature would be something to reduce its effectiveness as a weapon, a ridge down the middle of very soft rubber for example. Not thick enough for the michelin man effect, but absorbent enough to dissipate energy and make it "not cool" to try to bounce off someone on a tackle.

Perhaps a 1/4" air bag that deflates on impact to give that "squishy" feeling, you know, giving a little on impact. The helmet could have its own little shell contoured compressed air container so that it could reinflate after impact for a few times. It would have to be reinflated between series to recharge the pressure.

 

[71YellowJacket]

Re: Ford\'s Injury-A challange for Tech Engineers

This was posted by JrAchiever on the Hive:

Re: Ford's Injury-A challange for Tech Engineers
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I'm actually working on understanding the mechanics of traumatic head injuries at the cell and molecular level. This type of info is vital to the design of injury prevention technologies as well as the development of better post-injury treatments. Our web page is SEVERELY out of date from before I got here, but here's a basic summary of what we do:

www.seas.upenn.edu/be/lab...llBioM.htm

Michelle LaPlaca's lab at Tech does a lot of similar work.