Estep Patrick N, Bonts Emily G, Shivers Bethany L, Wurzbach John M, Novotny Brian L, Rybarczyk Kyle, Chancey Valeta Carol
Injury Biomechanics Division, U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, 6901 Farrel Road, Ft. Rucker, AL.
Laulima Government Solutions, LLC, 12565 Research Pkwy, Suite 300, Orlando, FL.
Mil Med. 2019 Mar 1;184(Suppl 1):245-250. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usy342.
In order to limit the aviator's exposure to potentially unsafe helmet configurations, the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) developed the USAARL Head-supported mass (HSM) Performance Curve and Acute Injury Risk Curve as guidelines for Army aviation HSM. These Curves remain the only established guidelines for Army HSM, but have limited applicability outside of the aviation environment. Helmet developers and program managers have requested guidelines be developed for the dismounted, ground-mounted, and airborne operating environments that consider currently fielded and proposed HSM configurations. The aim of this project was to measure mass properties (mass and center of mass offset) of currently fielded and proposed HSM configurations and compare them against the existing USAARL HSM Curve guidelines. Mass properties were collected for 71 unique dismounted and ground-mounted HSM configurations. None of the 71 HSM configurations met the Acute Injury Risk Curve recommendations, and only 11 of the 71 configurations met Performance Curve recommendations. While some helmets fell within acceptable limits, the addition of night vision goggles and protective masks pushed all configurations outside of the recommended guidelines. Future guidelines will need to be expanded to consider the operating environment, movement techniques, and primary mechanism of injury.
为了限制飞行员接触潜在不安全的头盔配置，美国陆军航空医学研究实验室（USAARL）制定了USAARL头部支撑质量（HSM）性能曲线和急性损伤风险曲线，作为陆军航空HSM的指导方针。这些曲线仍然是陆军HSM唯一既定的指导方针，但在航空环境之外的适用性有限。头盔开发者和项目经理要求为下车、地面安装和空中作战环境制定指导方针，这些指导方针要考虑当前装备的和提议的HSM配置。该项目的目的是测量当前装备的和提议的HSM配置的质量特性（质量和质心偏移），并将它们与现有的USAARL HSM曲线指导方针进行比较。收集了71种独特的下车和地面安装HSM配置的质量特性。71种HSM配置中没有一种符合急性损伤风险曲线的建议，71种配置中只有11种符合性能曲线的建议。虽然一些头盔落在可接受的范围内，但添加夜视镜和防护面罩使所有配置都超出了推荐指导方针。未来的指导方针需要扩大，以考虑作战环境、移动技术和主要损伤机制。
