By Stephen Cooney
In football, helmets are the most important piece of protective equipment players have.Vincent R. Ferrara, a former Harvard University quarterback and graduate of Columbia University’s medical and business schools, invented a new football helmet intended to be more safe.
The new helmet removes the standard foam pad, which must be filled with air to perform at optimum levels, and instead has air cushions that allow air to release on impact-protecting the head of the player-and refilling after impact. The design may revolutionize injury protection capabilities of football helmets.
Since its founding in 2004, Ferrara’s company, Xenith, has been raising money to fund the project.
The new technology is called Adaptive Head Protection, or X1. Xenith’s Web site explains the new system as consisting of two patent-pending concepts, Aware-Flow Shock Absorbers and Fit-Seeker Technology.
“Xenith Aware-Flow Shock Absorbers adapt to impact energy, providing a more optimized response at a variety of energy levels,” according to a statement on the company’s Web site. “Aware-Flow Shock Absorbers dissipate impact energy through strategic collapsing, return to shape instantaneously and show outstanding durability over repeated impact.”
The company emphasized the ease of maintaining its helmets.
“The Xenith Fit-Seeker instantly adapts to head size and shape, providing a truly perfect fit in a matter of seconds, with no pumps needed,” the statement said.
The helmet is being developed through a sponsored agreement with the University of Ottawa.
“The testing data shows the X1 flattens out force curves reducing peak Gs and the sudden movement that causes concussions,” said Blaine Hoshizaki, who is an expert in head protection at the University of Ottawa and the director of research for the helmet design. “The X1 is performing especially well in the locations that are of highest concern with regard to concussions.”
“Xenith’s approach is perhaps the greatest new head protection system to emerge in the last 30 years,” said Robert Cantu, MD, a leading expert on concussions in sports and director of sports medicine at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass., in the statement. “The company’s dedication to innovation and education are critical in the effort to reduce the frequency and severity of concussions.”
The New York Times reported the price for the helmets will be about $350, which is more then twice the price of most existing headgear. “This is more a piece of safety equipment, along the lines of a child car seat, than just a piece of athletic equipment,” Ferarra told the New York Times.
Xenith’s new helmet has just been approved by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletics.
The new innovation to football helmets uses air pockets that deflate upon impact to better protect the player’s head rather than the foam cushions of the traditional helmets. (Stephen Cooney)