A partnership between UBC Okanagan and Imperial College London (UK) focused on development of a new helmet that could one day reduce sports-related concussions.
Professors Peter Childs and Dan Plant from Imperial College collaborated with Professor Paul van Donkelaar, director of UBC’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC’s Okanagan campus to explore applications for a novel new material called Armourgel — a light, flexible material that absorbs shock on impact and can reduce physical harm from falls or other kinds of contact.
“Sport-related concussion is becoming a major concern for athletes, parents, coaches, and sport associations,” says van Donkelaar. “Finding ways to improve the safety of contact sports is one key approach to mitigating the risks of concussion. The development of Armourgel helmets could be a step in the right direction to making contact sports safer.”
Professor van Donkelaar worked with Armourgel and Kelowna’s Helios Global Technologies to develop a helmet liner that could lessen the impact of blows to the head, specifically in contact sports. His research examined the damage sustained by young athletes who have been concussed while playing sports, particularly those who have had more than one concussion.
Part of this work examines how concussions can affect blood flow to the brain, how this impacts neurocognitive function, and how to determine when young athletes are physically ready to begin playing a contact sport again.
“The access to first-class equipment at the STAR facility, as well as the world-class knowledge and expertise at UBC, is truly valuable on a global scale—and especially beneficial to SMEs. Being a part of a larger interdisciplinary team through STAR allows us to further our research and try new things we otherwise couldn’t do.”
– DR. DANIEL PLANT, FOUNDER AND TECHNOLOGY INVENTOR, ARMOURGEL LTD.
In van Donkelaar’s lab, Plant presented several variations of the Armourgel product, and explained how it can be manufactured in different thicknesses, and can be applied in many ways. The goal now is to work on a prototype helmet liner that may one day become standard safety equipment for those who play contact sports.