Martel Daniel R, Tanel Michelle R, Laing Andrew C
Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
J Rehabil Assist Technol Eng. 2021 Oct 29;8:20556683211050357. doi: 10.1177/20556683211050357. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.
While protective headwear products (PHP) are designed to protect older adults from fall-related head injuries, there are limited data on their protective capacity. This study's goal was to assess the impact attenuation provided by commercially available PHP during simulated head impacts.
A drop tower and Hybrid III headform measured the decrease in peak linear acceleration ( ) provided by 12 PHP for front- and back-of-head impacts at low (clinically relevant: 3.5 m/s) and high (5.7 m/s) impact velocities.
The range of across PHP was larger at the low velocity (56% and 41% for back and frontal impacts, respectively) vs. high velocity condition (27% and 38% for back and frontal impacts, respectively). A significant interaction between impact location and velocity was observed ( < .05), with significantly greater for back-of-head compared to front-of-head impacts at the low impact velocity (19% mean difference). While not significant, there was a modest positive association between and product padding thickness for back-of-head impacts ( = .095; r = 0.349).
This study demonstrates the wide range in impact attenuation across commercially available PHP, and suggests that existing products provide greater impact attenuation during back-of-head impacts. These data may inform evidence-based decisions for clinicians and consumers and help drive industry innovation.
虽然防护性头部装备产品（PHP）旨在保护老年人免受与跌倒相关的头部伤害，但其防护能力的数据有限。本研究的目的是评估市售PHP在模拟头部撞击过程中的冲击衰减情况。
使用落塔和Hybrid III头模测量了12种PHP在低（临床相关：3.5米/秒）和高（5.7米/秒）撞击速度下对头部前后撞击时峰值线性加速度（ ）的降低情况。
与高速条件相比，低速时PHP的 范围更大（后向撞击为56%，前向撞击为41%，高速时后向和前向撞击分别为27%和38%）。观察到撞击位置和速度之间存在显著交互作用（ <.05），在低撞击速度下，后向撞击的 明显大于前向撞击（平均差异为19%）。虽然不显著，但后向撞击时 与产品衬垫厚度之间存在适度的正相关（ = 0.095；r = 0.349）。
本研究表明市售PHP的冲击衰减范围广泛，并表明现有产品在头部后向撞击时提供更大的冲击衰减。这些数据可为临床医生和消费者基于证据的决策提供参考，并有助于推动行业创新。
