1. Vanderbilt University Senior Design Group 3 Doug Browne, Jeff Markle, Tyler Severance

2. Background Information Football began – 1869 Head injuries always have been part of the game… became more significant past 30 years Helmet quality and effectiveness regulated by National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) Minimum translational and rotational accelerations were found which were considered “safe” Unfortunately, these overlap with values that have been known to cause subdural hemorrhages Basis of project

3. How does this relate to injuries? Bridging Veins (BVs) rupture when vessel stretches to about 150% of normal resting length Impossible to actually test this in laboratory settings for football players Thus, it has been shown that “for the average duration of a helmeted collision in the NFL (15 ms) is thought to approximate 4,500-10,000 rad/s^2” (Forbes) Because this number is lower than tolerable collisions that occur in the NFL (and collegiate and high school level football), changes must be made

4. First: The Decision Right off the bat, our advisor proposed an opportunity to change our project In lieu of studying helmets in football collisions, we could choose to research ways to create a waterproof seal of the blood brain barrier to be used in brain surgeries through the nasal cavity Group weighed pros and cons of each potential project as well as researched several current articles on both topics

5. Result: Stick with the Helmet Multiple reasons: This is something all three of us are passionate about Much more practicality for the ME in our group Applied physics is more fun! Wider applications of use (surgeries are narrow scope and few and far between… football is played every week at many different levels)

6. Progress Update Advisor meeting Change Directions? Research the two topics Decision: Helmet design More interesting Utilize Doug’s talents

7. More Progress Subject Research Journals, web, contact groups NCIIA grant proposal completed Website updated

8. Future Plans Procure Helmets Design experiment to test translational acceleration and angular acceleration After establishing baseline data, design helmet to reduce angular acceleration Research helmet re-certification process Make improvements to the re-certification process to insure used helmets are safe to use

9. We need your help: Lab studies? Equipment questions Testing Dummies Simulating collisions

10. Sources http://www.freevectors.net/details/Football+Helmet http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/ncaa-football- 07/719937p1.html Forbes, Jonathan. Biomechanics of Subdural Hemorrhage in American Football. Department of Neurological Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Nashville, TN. 2010