As we learn more about the long-term effects of concussions, head injuries in hockey continue to be a growing concern for players, coaches and parents.
Scientists and engineers at Virginia Tech are attempting to make hockey a safer sport by implementing a five-star rating system for hockey helmets — just like they did with the STAR system used in football.
“After football, hockey is the sport that produces the highest rate of concussion,” Dr. Stefan M. Duma, the head of the Virginia Tech’s biomedical engineering department, told the New York Times. “We want to produce a mechanism to try and reduce that risk of concussion.”
Duma and his colleagues are hoping to administer tests on roughly 30 models of hockey helmets in the near future and release the results later this year. Tests would include having objects crash into the helmets at various speeds to replicate the type of impact players might endure during a game. Sensors in the helmets would monitor how well the product handled various levels of impact.
“We want to identify helmets that better reduce head acceleration. Helmets that lower head acceleration reduce risk,” said Dr. Steven Rowson, a biomedical engineering teacher at the university.
The Virginia Tech football team first used the STAR system in 2011 and it had a dramatic impact on football helmet sales. Helmets given a five-star rating (the highest possible rating) soared while all other helmet sales plummeted.
“It’s probably early to say what this will lead to,” CCM product developer Pierre-Luc Beauchamp said. “Obviously, when there’s new knowledge, then we look at it, and we try to make the best product possible to achieve the best potential. Does more padding actually mean fewer concussions? That’s still not clear. But the more the science advances, the better the products will be because we’re following it.”
