HIP-TEC touts ‘game changing’ head injury prevention technology
07/08/2013
The system is designed to integrate with other companies’ helmet shell concepts and the US company claims with HIP-TEC implemented into a partner’s helmet, the severity of an impact was reduced by between 40% and 60% “across all angles, impact testing velocities and drop test heights”.
“Our interior technology system is a game changer because it mitigates against all three accident scenarios that can contribute to head injuries: high velocity impacts, low speed falls and rotational impacts,” said HIP-TEC co-founder Nick Turner, adding that the technology is 20% thinner than a traditional ski or bike helmet’s protective core.
The technology has been co-developed at labs with development through Johns Hopkins University joint research projects and testing at HIP-TEC’s Truckee-based helmet lab. The design allows protective layers to engage together as one unit or as separate energy absorbers depending on the severity of an impact.
HIP-TEC co-founder Tom Feiten said: “International standards still require that a helmet is tested to keep an impact below 250 Gs (g-force) and then it’s certified to sale. We firmly believe helmets still need to pass this standard, but at the same time they also must address accidents that are causing the majority of concussions happening at smaller, low falls that register between 90 and 150 Gs.”
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