COMBATING TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY THROUGH A NEW STUDY

According to the CDC, an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) annually. Of them, 1.365 million are treated and released from an emergency department, while 275,000 are hospitalized and 52,000 don’t survive. TBI is a contributing factor to one-third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the United States. About 75% of TBIs that occur each year are concussions or other forms of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). And of course, the risk of TBI is prevalent from the slopes to the football field to the battlefield and many places in between.
 
That’s why Team Wendy has joined forces with Brown University, Drexel University and Sandia National Laboratories to conduct comprehensive research on traumatic brain injury.
 
With a $4.75 million grant from the 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 help prevent them. Accomplishing that will require a comprehensive, multilevel understanding of how forces are transmitted from a helmet to the skull, from the skull through brain tissue, and ultimately to the individual neurons and axons that are damaged leading to TBI.
 
To achieve this the effort brings together research spanning from the microscopic level of brain cells to the macroscopic level of helmets, and is incredibly unique in that respect. Our team leads work on the macroscopic scale, developing an integrated sensor system within the padding of a helmet that is capable of measuring linear and angular accelerations, as well as force distributions experienced across the skull during impact. The system will be capable of providing measurements in a lab setting, such as when on a test headform, and eventually on a human wearer. The aim is to develop a brain injury model so data collected via the helmet can be used to predict likelihood of injury following an impact to the head. 
 
With a better understanding of how traumatic brain injuries occur, the study is also working to improve helmet testing methods and develop new materials and designs for the next generation of helmets and protective equipment.
 
Participating in studies like this strikes at the core of the reason for our founding; and as March is Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month, we thought this would be a good time to share the news. We’re only a few months into the study and will be sharing updates as able here on Above the Brim. Be sure to check back to see what we learn.
 
By Ron Szalkowski
Director, Product Development & Research Collaboration