The PANTHER program
Learn more about their work to detect and prevent traumatic brain injuries.
Our research projects
Advancing brain injury protection
The Panther program
Team Wendy has joined forces with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Brown University, Sandia National Laboratories, Robert Morris University, the Colorado School of Mines, and others in the PANTHER program to conduct comprehensive research on TBI.
Under a series of research grants from Office of Naval Research, the three-year study aims to produce new insights into how traumatic injuries form in the brain and develop new helmet technologies to prevent injury. Accomplishing that will require a comprehensive, multilevel understanding of how forces are transmitted from helmet to skull, from the skull through brain tissue and ultimately to individual neurons and axons.
Microscopic view of brain cells
The PANTHER program
The effort brings together research spanning the microscopic level of brain cells to the macroscopic level of helmets. It is incredibly unique. Our team leads on the macroscopic scale, developing an integrated sensor system within the padding of a helmet that is capable of measuring linear and angular accelerations. The system will be capable of providing measurements in a lab setting, first on a test headform, and eventually on a human wearer. With new data, we can improve the standards for helmet testing so they better reflect real-life scenarios and the stresses and strains the brain experiences during impact.
By combining the expertise of each contributing team, the PANTHER program’s end goal is to apply foundational research in brain injury, materials research, kinematic measurement and predictive simulation to develop a new helmet that surpasses all others in protecting the brain.
Improving Ballistic Impact Protection with TALOS
Team Wendy was selected to work with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in the development of an advanced ballistic military suit: the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS), also known as the “Iron Man Suit” due to its extreme ballistic protection capabilities combined with an exterior exoskeleton. Team Wendy’s assignment in this initiative was to design the TALOS helmet liner with the specific aim of maximizing ballistic protection while reducing blunt trauma.
The liner for this helmet is unique in that operators selected to wear TALOS would have a personalized helmet designed to fit a 3D scan of their particular head measurements. This advanced helmet liner system greatly mitigates ballistic backface deformation, allowing greater survivability upon impact.
Enhancing Foam Structures with Natick
Team Wendy also worked closely with U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center (NSSC) to develop a new foam structure for our helmet liner systems and comfort pads. The overall redesign of this structure is anticipated to increase the wearer’s individual modularity of fit and comfort and provide increased impact mitigation properties.
