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Piezoelectric Nano-Foam Measures Football Helmet Impact in Real Time

According to the CDC, over 1.6 million sports-related concussions happen annually - football being the sport with the highest concussion risk. The NFL and helmet makers have recently put more resources into investigating concussions, but current technology only provides data through bulky accelerometers in the crown of a helmet. A new piezoelectric foam created by Brigham Young University student Jake Merrell accounts for both force and acceleration to measure actual impact. When compressed, the self-powered foam generates electrical signals that are transmitted wirelessly to a tablet or computer in the hands of a coach or trainer. Merrell hopes this technology is able to transform any foam into an impact sensor for a wide range of applications, from law enforcement to automotive.

Topics:
Communications Detectors Materials Measuring Instruments Medical Nanotechnology Patient Monitoring Power Sensors Test & Measurement Wireless

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    Transcript

    00:00:01 So we developed this new type a foam which we're calling XO nano foam. XO because it can be used as a protection and nano because we have nanoparticles embedded into it. We just added little tiny nanoparticles that are like a hundredth the size of the human hair that turn the compressive forces into an electric output. When it's compressed, it creates a voltage. Concussions are such a hot topic right now. We thought, man this would be awesome to have in a helmet to actually measure the impacts that these players are sustaining. They're getting hit constantly, and this foam would be able to give us

    00:00:36 a true accurate measurement of each one of those impacts. When we put the XO nano foam into some of the existing foam in the helmet, we can create a smart helmet that will monitor impacts and send that data to the sidelines in real time. So what we have here is a piezoelectric foam that's embedded into the standard foam that's in the front of this helmet. Then we have a little microcontroller here that reads all the signals that are coming out of that foam. A program on its tablet here shows the output from that foam sensor. That was a good one.

    00:01:11 Currently trainers have to watch for symptoms to determine if players had a concussion. Because the foam is in direct contact with the head of the player, this foam is able to actually detect what the head is experiencing from the impact on the helmet. The other sensors are measuring the motion of the helmet. This is actually measuring the forces on the head of the player. What makes this technology innovative is that we're turning standard foam into a smart foam that can detect impacts. We can put it in helmets and understand impacts better. We can put it in shoes and understand our walking patterns better. There are many applications where foam is used, and we can simply turn that into a smart foam.

    00:01:53 Currently the NFL has a head health challenge where they're supplying sixty million dollars to better understand concussions. I'm working on a prototype helmet that will be able to monitor players in real time for the trainers on the sidelines to better understand each impact. up