The effect of coupling a helmet and shoulder pads on head and neck loading in American football impacts

Novel technologies that mitigate head impact severity can contribute to reducing TBI risk in helmeted activities. This study evaluated the efficacy of prototype equipment that couples a helmet and shoulder pads during head impacts representative of American football. A custom test fixture accelerated the head, neck, torso, and pelvis of an anthropomorphic test device (ATD) into a second, stationary ATD so that head and neck loading could be assessed for both players involved in an impact. Three equipment configurations were tested, each at 6.7 m/s and 4.4 m/s: (i) both ATDs wore a standard helmet and shoulder pads, (ii) the accelerated ATD wore the prototype while the stationary ATD wore a standard helmet and shoulder pads, and (iii) both ATDs wore the prototype. The prototype yielded significant reductions in peak linear accelerations of the head for both ATDs at 6.7 m/s, but only one ATD at 4.4 m/s. Reductions in angular head kinematics were inconsistent across the different equipment configurations and test conditions. Significant reductions in upper neck loading (both force and moment) were observed in both ATDs as a result of wearing the coupled equipment in all but one scenario.