Helmet Lab
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The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab allows researchers to provide unbiased helmet ratings that allow consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing helmets. The helmet ratings are the culmination of over 10 years of research on head impacts in sports and identify which helmets best reduce concussion risk. Please contact the Helmet Lab with any questions about this research.
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Recent Submissions
- Polo Helmet Rotational TestingRowson, Steven; Begonia, Mark T. (Virginia Tech, 2023-05-22)Present polo helmet testing methods only assess linear acceleration, neglecting the evaluation of a helmet's ability to reduce rotational acceleration. Both linear and rotational accelerations are key predictors of brain injuries. Therefore, understanding these measures is crucial for gauging the risk associated with each helmet. This report describes the results of a test series requested by the United States Polo Association Safety Committee that evaluated current polo helmets under rotational loading conditions.
- Equestrian STAR MethodologyBegonia, Mark T.; Miller, Barry; Rowson, Steven; Duma, Stefan M. (2022-12-06)This document details the protocol used to rate equestrian helmets based on concussion risk according to the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings.
- Equestrian Standards Helmet Impact CriteriaHelmet Lab (2022-12-06)A comparison sheet of standards for testing equestrian helmets.
- Whitewater STAR MethodologyDuma, Brock; Begonia, Mark T.; Miller, Barry; Rowson, Steven; Duma, Stefan (2022-09-08)This document details the protocol used to rate whitewater helmets based on concussion risk according to the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings.
- Snow Sport Helmet STAR ProtocolKeim, Summer; Begonia, Mark T.; Kieffer, Emily E.; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2022-02-11)This document details the protocol used by the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings to rate snow sport helmets based on concussion risk.
- Hockey STAR MethodologyBegonia, Mark T.; Tyson, Abigail M.; Rowson, Bethany M.; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2022-02-08)This document details the protocol used by the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings to rate hockey helmets based on concussion risk.
- Implementing Head Impact Sensors in Collegiate Men’s and Women’s Rugby: Successes and Challenges in Characterizing ConcussionKieffer, Emily E.; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2022-01-29)Head impact sensors allow researchers to learn more about human tolerance to head impact exposure and concussion. Previous on-field data collection has worked to quantify concussion biomechanics, based primarily on helmeted male athletes. Data from unhelmeted and female athletes still need to be collected and quantified to understand how concussion tolerance varies by sex and loading environment. The primary goal of this study was to instrument collegiate rugby players with head impact sensors embedded in mouthguards and to report head impact and concussion biomechanics. Over four seasons of data collection, four males and 15 females sustained concussions. To reduce underreporting, we collected weekly graded symptom surveys from all players. Kinematics were only collected for two male concussions and three female concussions due to different challenges with the instrumentation. The secondary goal of this study was to discuss head impact sensors that are used on-field and explore their practicality and limitations. We present our experience using two instrumented mouthguards, the Wake Forest Instrumented Retainer and the Prevent Biometrics Intelligent Instrumented Mouthguard, to measure head impacts in athletes. Not enough injury data were collected to quantify unhelmeted concussion tolerance. Still, the following reports may provide foundational and reference cases for future research, in addition to discussion of data quality, sex-specific athlete compliance, general usability, and provide recommendations for future head impact sensor use.
- Virginia Tech Hockey Helmet Ratings MemorandumRowson, Steven; Begonia, Mark T.; Rowson, Bethany M.; Duma, Stefan M. (Virginia Tech, 2022-01-25)This memorandum serves to reiterate the goals of the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings, discuss the hockey helmet ratings, and announce an update to the exposure weightings and star thresholds used to rate hockey helmets.
- STAR Methodology for Rugby HeadgearKieffer, Emily E.; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2021-07-13)This document details the protocol used to rate rugby headgear based on concussion risk according to the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings.
- Varsity Football STAR MethodologyTyson, Abigail M.; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2020-12)This document details the protocol used to rate adult football helmets based on concussion risk according to the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings.
- Flag Football Headgear STAR ProtocolBegonia, Mark T.; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2019-06-30)This document details the protocol used to rate flag football headgear based on concussion risk according to the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings.
- Youth Football Helmet STAR MethodologyCampolettano, Eamon T.; Sproule, David W.; Begonia, Mark T.; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2019-03-19)This document details the protocol used by the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings to rate youth football helmets based on concussion risk.
- Bicycle Helmet STAR ProtocolBland, Megan L.; McNally, Craig; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2018-06-25)This document details the protocol used to rate adult bicycle helmets based on concussion risk according to the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings.
- Soccer Headgear STAR ProtocolTyson, Abigail M.; Press, Jaclyn; Rowson, Steven (Virginia Tech, 2018-03-30)This document details the protocol used to rate soccer headgear based on concussion risk according to the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings.