A new design in helmets and hardhats addresses rotational blows to the head preventing some brain injuries

March 31, 2020, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Hard hats are everywhere. Anyone who works in any sort of construction wears them, factory workers and warehouse employees often wear them, mining, forestry, and many other workers are required by low to wear them.  They save countless people from head injuries every year, and are considered an essential piece of daily PPE.

A new science based development has taken hardhats to the next level. The design is meant to reduce rotational forces to the head and to protect the brain. The new Armet helmet is currently being certified for the Canadian market and distributors are being established for our supply chain. The new hardhats us a multi-directional impact protection system (MIPS) developed by neurosurgeons and scientists to address angled impacts to the head and skull. These rotational forces can increast the risk of brain injury.

MIPS uses a slip-plane system that moves inside the helmet and reduces the harmful motions transferred to the brain during impact. The technology was deceloped in the mid 1990s by a Swedish neurosurgeon Dr. Hans von Holst. He partenered with others to form a company that focussed on improving the safety of helmets.

MIP’s website states

“MIPS is a brain protection system — engineered to add protection

The MIPS Brain Protection System (BPS) is found inside the helmet, generally between the comfort padding and the EPS (a high-quality foam used to reduce energy). For certain impacts, the MIPS BPS can reduce harmful forces transmitted to the brain”.

Injury statistics show that when you fall and hit your head, it’s most common to fall at an angle, compared to a linear fall.

Falling at an angle creates rotational motion and science has shown that our brains are very sensitive to rotational forces. In an angled impact, these forces may transfer to your brain, which can cause severe injuries. The MIPS BPS can reduce the rotational motion and reduce the risk of brain damage.”
 

Guardio is a company manufacturing the new helmets which were designed for ergonomics as well as safety. The nelmets look almost identical to existing ones except on the inside there is a thin layer under the pads. This layer allows the movement of 10-15 mm between the head and helmet in any direction during impact.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

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