Football helmets tested, rated for concussion prevention

Virginia Tech University recently announced three adult football helmets as “5 star” winners in its latest study on concussion prevention, according to a news release.

Researchers at Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings tested 15 helmets, five more since its initial testing in 2011, to determine which models were best at preventing concussions. Each helmet was struck with 120 impacts of varying energies and at multiple points. Results were ranked using the Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk (STAR) evaluation system plus Virginia Tech’s own rating method.

“This is a perfect example of a National Institutes of Health-funded project resulting in translational research,” Stefan M. Duma, PhD, Harry C. Wyatt professor and department head of the Virginia Tech–Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, said in the release. “The NIH supported the development of the sensors and data collection that provided the foundation for our rating system.”

“The three lowest-rated helmets from last year are now off the market,” Steven Rowson, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Virginia Tech and STAR developer, said. “Four of the five helmets introduced in the last year earned a 4- or 5-star rating. This helps demonstrate that a data-driven approach can be utilized to optimize helmet design to reduce concussion risk.”

Helmets manufactured by Riddell and Rawlings earned the 5-star ratings.

For additional information:

http://www.sbes.vt.edu/nid.php