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Design of a Football Helmet to Reduce the Risk of Subdural Brain Hemorrhaging . Vanderbilt University Senior Design Group 3 Doug Browne, Jeff Markle, Tyler Severance. Background Information. Football began – 1869
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Design of a Football Helmet to Reduce the Risk ofSubdural Brain Hemorrhaging Vanderbilt University Senior Design Group 3 Doug Browne, Jeff Markle, Tyler Severance
Background Information • Football began – 1869 • Head injuries always have been part of the game… became more significant past 30 years • Helmet quality and effectiveness regulated by National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) • Minimum translational and rotational accelerations were found which were considered “safe” • Unfortunately, these overlap with values that have been known to cause subdural hemorrhages • Basis of project
How does this relate to injuries? • Bridging Veins (BVs) rupture when vessel stretches to about 150% of normal resting length • Impossible to actually test this in laboratory settings for football players • Thus, it has been shown that “for the average duration of a helmeted collision in the NFL (15 ms) is thought to approximate 4,500-10,000 rad/s^2” (Forbes) • Because this number is lower than tolerable collisions that occur in the NFL (and collegiate and high school level football), changes must be made
First: The Decision • Right off the bat, our advisor proposed an opportunity to change our project • In lieu of studying helmets in football collisions, we could choose to research ways to create a waterproof seal of the blood brain barrier to be used in brain surgeries through the nasal cavity • Group weighed pros and cons of each potential project as well as researched several current articles on both topics
Result: Stick with the Helmet • Multiple reasons: • This is something all three of us are passionate about • Much more practicality for the ME in our group • Applied physics is more fun! • Wider applications of use (surgeries are narrow scope and few and far between… football is played every week at many different levels)
Progress Update • Advisor meeting • Change Directions? • Research the two topics • Decision: Helmet design • More interesting • Utilize Doug’s talents
More Progress • Subject Research • Journals, web, contact groups • NCIIA grant proposal completed • Website updated
Future Plans • Procure Helmets • Design experiment to test translational acceleration and angular acceleration • After establishing baseline data, design helmet to reduce angular acceleration • Research helmet re-certification process • Make improvements to the re-certification process to insure used helmets are safe to use
We need your help: • Lab studies? • Equipment questions • Testing Dummies • Simulating collisions
Sources • http://www.freevectors.net/details/Football+Helmet • http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/ncaa-football-07/719937p1.html • Forbes, Jonathan. Biomechanics of Subdural Hemorrhage in American Football. Department of Neurological Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Nashville, TN. 2010