Foul tip impact attenuation of baseball catcher masks using head impact metrics.

Currently, no scientific consensus exists on the relative safety of catcher mask styles and materials. Due to differences in mass and material properties, the style and material of a catcher mask influences the impact metrics observed during simulated foul ball impacts. The catcher surrogate was a Hybrid III head and neck equipped with a six degree of freedom sensor package to obtain linear accelerations and angular rates.

Scaling in neurotrauma: how do we apply animal experiments to people?

Scaling is an essential component for translating the clinical outcomes of a neurotrauma model to the human equivalent. This article reviews the principles of biomechanical scaling for traumatic brain injuries, and a number of different approaches to scaling the dose (inputs) and response (outputs) of an animal model to humans are highlighted. A particular focus on blast injury scaling is given as an ongoing area of research, and discussion on the implications of scaling on the current blast TBI literature is provided.

Porcine head response to blast.

Recent studies have shown an increase in the frequency of traumatic brain injuries related to blast exposure. However, the mechanisms that cause blast neurotrauma are unknown. Blast neurotrauma research using computational models has been one method to elucidate that response of the brain in blast, and to identify possible mechanical correlates of injury.

Attenuation of blast pressure behind ballistic protective vests.

Background: Clinical studies increasingly report brain injury and not pulmonary injury following blast exposures, despite the increased frequency of exposure to explosive devices. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of personal body armour use on the potential for primary blast injury and to determine the risk of brain and pulmonary injury following a blast and its impact on the clinical care of patients with a history of blast exposure.

Methods: A shock tube was used to generate blast overpressures on soft ballistic protective vests (NIJ Level-2) and hard protective vests (NIJ Level-4) while overpressure was recorded behind the vest.