Standards for sports headgear were introduced as far back as the 1960s and many have remained substantially unchanged to present day. Since this time, headgear has virtually eliminated catastrophic head injuries such as skull fractures and changed the landscape of head injuries in sports. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is now a prevalent concern and the effectiveness of headgear in mitigating mTBI is inconclusive for most sports. Given that most current headgear standards are confined to attenuating linear head mechanics and recent brain injury studies have underscored the importance of angular mechanics in the genesis of mTBI, new or expanded standards are needed to foster headgear development and assess headgear performance that addresses all types of sport-related head and brain injuries. The aim of this review was to provide a basis for developing new sports headgear impact tests for standards by summarizing and critiquing the following: (1) impact testing procedures currently codified in published headgear standards for sports and (2) new or proposed headgear impact test procedures in published literature and/or relevant conferences. Research areas identified as needing further knowledge to support standards test development include defining sports-specific head impact conditions, establishing injury and age appropriate headgear assessment criteria, and the development of headgear specific head and neck surrogates for at-risk populations.
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July 2019
Review Articles
A Review of Impact Testing Methods for Headgear in Sports: Considerations for Improved Prevention of Head Injury Through Research and Standards
T. Whyte,
T. Whyte
Orthopaedic and Injury Biomechanics Group,
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
International Collaboration on
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
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C. A. Stuart,
C. A. Stuart
Orthopaedic and Injury Biomechanics Group,
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
International Collaboration on
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
Search for other works by this author on:
A. Mallory,
A. Mallory
Transportation Research Center Inc.,
East Liberty, OH 43319;
East Liberty, OH 43319;
The Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH 43210
Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH 43210
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M. Ghajari,
M. Ghajari
Dyson School of Design Engineering,
Imperial College London,
South Kensington Campus,
London SW7 2AZ, UK
Imperial College London,
South Kensington Campus,
London SW7 2AZ, UK
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D. J. Plant,
D. J. Plant
Rheon Labs Ltd.,
11S Hewlett House,
Havelock Terrace,
London SW8 4AS, UK
11S Hewlett House,
Havelock Terrace,
London SW8 4AS, UK
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G. P. Siegmund,
G. P. Siegmund
MEA Forensic Engineers & Scientists,
Richmond, BC V7A 4S5, Canada;
11-11151 Horseshoe Way
,Richmond, BC V7A 4S5, Canada;
School of Kinesiology,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
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P. A. Cripton
P. A. Cripton
Orthopaedic and Injury Biomechanics Group,
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics and the
School of Biomedical Engineering,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics and the
School of Biomedical Engineering,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
International Collaboration on
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
e-mail: cripton@mech.ubc.ca
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
e-mail: cripton@mech.ubc.ca
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
T. Whyte
Orthopaedic and Injury Biomechanics Group,
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
International Collaboration on
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
C. A. Stuart
Orthopaedic and Injury Biomechanics Group,
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
International Collaboration on
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
A. Mallory
Transportation Research Center Inc.,
East Liberty, OH 43319;
East Liberty, OH 43319;
The Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH 43210
Ohio State University,
Columbus, OH 43210
M. Ghajari
Dyson School of Design Engineering,
Imperial College London,
South Kensington Campus,
London SW7 2AZ, UK
Imperial College London,
South Kensington Campus,
London SW7 2AZ, UK
D. J. Plant
Rheon Labs Ltd.,
11S Hewlett House,
Havelock Terrace,
London SW8 4AS, UK
11S Hewlett House,
Havelock Terrace,
London SW8 4AS, UK
G. P. Siegmund
MEA Forensic Engineers & Scientists,
Richmond, BC V7A 4S5, Canada;
11-11151 Horseshoe Way
,Richmond, BC V7A 4S5, Canada;
School of Kinesiology,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
P. A. Cripton
Orthopaedic and Injury Biomechanics Group,
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics and the
School of Biomedical Engineering,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
Departments of Mechanical
Engineering and Orthopaedics and the
School of Biomedical Engineering,
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;
International Collaboration on
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
e-mail: cripton@mech.ubc.ca
Repair Discoveries (ICORD),
The University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
e-mail: cripton@mech.ubc.ca
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received November 11, 2018; final manuscript received February 21, 2019; published online May 23, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Beth A. Winkelstein.
J Biomech Eng. Jul 2019, 141(7): 070803 (29 pages)
Published Online: May 23, 2019
Article history
Received:
November 11, 2018
Revised:
February 21, 2019
Citation
Whyte, T., Stuart, C. A., Mallory, A., Ghajari, M., Plant, D. J., Siegmund, G. P., and Cripton, P. A. (May 23, 2019). "A Review of Impact Testing Methods for Headgear in Sports: Considerations for Improved Prevention of Head Injury Through Research and Standards." ASME. J Biomech Eng. July 2019; 141(7): 070803. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4043140
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