Gel-filled liner absorbs energy of impacts, may reduce sports-related head injuries
Gel-filled liner absorbs energy of impacts, may reduce sports-related head injuries
By Sid Perkins
Web edition: May 16, 2012
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The Skid Lid Helmet Helper, a cap-like liner (far right) made of 1-centimeter-thick strips filled with a gel-like material, may absorb as much as 97 percent of the energy of an impact, Longcroft's tests suggest.
Credit: Patrick Thornton, SSP
There is no such thing as a good smack to the head.
Whether you ski down a mountain, play football, or skate with the big boys on a hockey rink, you're at risk of a sports-related head injury. But the statistics of injuries related to bicycling are what inspired Claire Longcroft, a 16-year-old 11th-grader at Collingwood School in West Vancouver, British Columbia, to design an energy-absorbing liner for helmets.
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