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Role of Helmet Fit on Angular and Linear Accelerations of Head in Ice Hockey

Received: 6 August 2019     Accepted: 23 August 2019     Published: 6 September 2019
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Abstract

Increasing the protection efficiency of helmets is counted as the biggest challenge in ice hockey. The main objective of this study is twofold: first to understand the effect of fitting on the protection capability of ice hockey helmets, and second to determine a possible optimal fit with respect to minimum head accelerations. A purpose-built monorail drop tower was utilized to perform front and front boss impacts at a velocity of 4.47m/s on a custom headform outfitted with a commercial helmet (CCM Resistance) with no gap (tight fit), 2mm (regular fit), and 5 mm gaps (loose fit). It was observed that while in both impacts linear accelerations were lower for the regular fit model, the loose fit model predicted the lowest angular accelerations. A loosely-fitted helmet provides non-deterministic shifting upon impact which generally leads to a wider standard deviation of linear and angular accelerations. The results indicated that in front impacts while introducing a gap reduced the risk of focal injuries, only the loose fit model suggested lower risks of concussive injuries. However, the regular and loose fit models showed better protection against focal and concussive injuries in the front boss impacts, respectively.

Published in International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11
Page(s) 26-32
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Ice Hockey, Helmet, Fitting, Concussion, Head Acceleration

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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Hesam Sarvghad Moghaddam, Whitman Kwok. (2019). Role of Helmet Fit on Angular and Linear Accelerations of Head in Ice Hockey. International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering, 7(2), 26-32. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11

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    ACS Style

    Hesam Sarvghad Moghaddam; Whitman Kwok. Role of Helmet Fit on Angular and Linear Accelerations of Head in Ice Hockey. Int. J. Biomed. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(2), 26-32. doi: 10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11

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    AMA Style

    Hesam Sarvghad Moghaddam, Whitman Kwok. Role of Helmet Fit on Angular and Linear Accelerations of Head in Ice Hockey. Int J Biomed Sci Eng. 2019;7(2):26-32. doi: 10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11,
      author = {Hesam Sarvghad Moghaddam and Whitman Kwok},
      title = {Role of Helmet Fit on Angular and Linear Accelerations of Head in Ice Hockey},
      journal = {International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {26-32},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijbse.20190702.11},
      abstract = {Increasing the protection efficiency of helmets is counted as the biggest challenge in ice hockey. The main objective of this study is twofold: first to understand the effect of fitting on the protection capability of ice hockey helmets, and second to determine a possible optimal fit with respect to minimum head accelerations. A purpose-built monorail drop tower was utilized to perform front and front boss impacts at a velocity of 4.47m/s on a custom headform outfitted with a commercial helmet (CCM Resistance) with no gap (tight fit), 2mm (regular fit), and 5 mm gaps (loose fit). It was observed that while in both impacts linear accelerations were lower for the regular fit model, the loose fit model predicted the lowest angular accelerations. A loosely-fitted helmet provides non-deterministic shifting upon impact which generally leads to a wider standard deviation of linear and angular accelerations. The results indicated that in front impacts while introducing a gap reduced the risk of focal injuries, only the loose fit model suggested lower risks of concussive injuries. However, the regular and loose fit models showed better protection against focal and concussive injuries in the front boss impacts, respectively.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Role of Helmet Fit on Angular and Linear Accelerations of Head in Ice Hockey
    AU  - Hesam Sarvghad Moghaddam
    AU  - Whitman Kwok
    Y1  - 2019/09/06
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11
    T2  - International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering
    JF  - International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering
    JO  - International Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering
    SP  - 26
    EP  - 32
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7235
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijbse.20190702.11
    AB  - Increasing the protection efficiency of helmets is counted as the biggest challenge in ice hockey. The main objective of this study is twofold: first to understand the effect of fitting on the protection capability of ice hockey helmets, and second to determine a possible optimal fit with respect to minimum head accelerations. A purpose-built monorail drop tower was utilized to perform front and front boss impacts at a velocity of 4.47m/s on a custom headform outfitted with a commercial helmet (CCM Resistance) with no gap (tight fit), 2mm (regular fit), and 5 mm gaps (loose fit). It was observed that while in both impacts linear accelerations were lower for the regular fit model, the loose fit model predicted the lowest angular accelerations. A loosely-fitted helmet provides non-deterministic shifting upon impact which generally leads to a wider standard deviation of linear and angular accelerations. The results indicated that in front impacts while introducing a gap reduced the risk of focal injuries, only the loose fit model suggested lower risks of concussive injuries. However, the regular and loose fit models showed better protection against focal and concussive injuries in the front boss impacts, respectively.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Mechanical Engineering Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA

  • ZAM Worx, Foster City, USA

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