Head and Brain Injury Page

LINEAR IMPACT

Most hard hats are designed to protect against linear impacts, with Type 1 protecting the top of the head, and Type 2 extending protection to the sides.

Linear impacts are most responsible for skull fractures and, in rare cases, can also cause concussions from compression, stretching, and shearing of the brain.

All that said, linear impacts are very rare. After all, real accidents don’t happen in a lab, and gravity doesn’t care where or how your head hits the ground. The vast majority of head injuries are caused by angled impacts that create rotational force.

ROTATIONAL FORCE

To illustrate the dangers of rotational force, imagine a washing machine: it cleans your clothes by spinning and agitating the fabric to remove contaminants. Rotational force can do the same thing to your brain.

As the head impacts the ground at an angle, your soft brain matter will continue to move or rotate in whatever direction your skull was just before impact.

Depending on the speed, area, and angle of impact, this agitation will ripple throughout the brain, shearing the axons that connect white and gray brain matter and even damaging connections between different parts of the brain: both common results of a concussion.

THE SCIENCE OF HEAD INJURY

CONCUSSIONS AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES ARE COMMONLY THE RESULT OF ROTATIONAL FORCE AND STRAIN TO THE BRAIN.

Injury statistics demonstrate that when someone trips on a level surface, they are more likely to fall at an angle instead of directly on top of the head. This is due to the forward energy of motion that may extend to the head when hitting the hard ground surface. Over the past few years, science has shown that our brains are very sensitive to rotational forces

IN THIS SCENARIO, CONVENTIONAL HARD HATS WITHOUT A CHIN STRAP WOULD LIKELY FLY OFF. A CHIN STRAP HELPS, BUT IS IT ENOUGH?

INTRODUCING MIPS® TECHNOLOGY

A LOW FRICTION LAYER TO HELP REDUCE THE SEVERITY OF HEAD INJURIES

At impact the Mips® Safety System is designed to help reduce the amount of rotational force transferred to the head by redirecting the forces that are generated by the impact.
The Mips® Safety System allows for a 10-15 mm relative movement between the helmet and the head during the critical first 5-10ms of the impact.
It is not uncommon that the point load on the head/helmet at impact is at 2,200 lbs. – The Mips® Safety System is designed to allow the helmet to move even under this kind of pressure.

ABSORB IMPACT & STAY COOL WITH KOROYD

A HOLLOW CORE SHIELD FOR MAXIMUM VENTILATION & IMPACT ABSORPTION

Most safety helmets use standard EPS foam as a blunt-force shield against impact. This, however, has significant drawbacks when it comes to impact protection. Rather than absorbing impact evenly, traditional materials stiffen as they compress, and solidify at up to 60% of their thickness, directly transferring the remaining forces to the head and brain instead of protecting it.

By contrast, Koroyd's sacrificial array of hollow tubes can use up to 78% of the material’s thickness for maximum energy absorption, taking the brunt of the force,without hardening or rebounding. In addition, absorbing more impact also reduces rotational forces, as there is less force transferred throughout the impact.

FULLY VENTILATED, LIGHTWEIGHT PROTECTION

Another big benefit of the lightweight design is superior ventilation. Unlike ABS foam shells which insulate the head, Koroyd's hollow core tubes allow air to pass through, greatly increasing ventilation and reducing interior helmet temperatures by up to 8°F.

In addition, the helmet becomes significantly lighter, reducing the discomfort and fatigue that comes from heavy helmets and reducing the chances of workers taking them off on the job.

All these benefits combine make for one of the most comfortable, heat-conscious, and protective safety helmet technologies available.