Brain injury awareness has increased in recent years. Wearing a helmet has been shown to reduce the likelihood of brain injury from head contact in general, but helmets have limitations. Our consultants have been studying the efficacy of helmets and hardhats and their limitations through impact simulations and statistical analyses.

 
 
 
 

Publications, Abstracts and Presentations

 

Shealy J, Johnson R, Ettlinger C, Scher I. Role of Helmets in Mitigation of Head Injuries. Skiing Trauma and Safety, 20th Volume, ASTM STP 1582, 2015.

Scher I, Stepan L, Yang N, Shealy J.  Rotational Head Kinematics During a Back Edge Catch Event. Abstract presented at the Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Skiing Safety, San Vito di Cadore, Italy, March 2015.

Scher I, Suderman B, Stepan L, Shealy J. Helmet Effectiveness: Do Helmets Reduce the Likelihood of Severe Head Injury? Abstract presented at the Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Skiing Safety, San Vito di Cadore, Italy, March 2015.

Suderman B, Hoover R, Ching R, Scher I. The Effect of Hardhats on Head and Neck Response to Vertical Impacts from Large Construction Objects. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 73, pp. 116–124.

Scher I, Stepan L, Shealy J, Thomas R. Rental and Fleet Helmets: Examining Multiple Impacts. Abstract presented at the Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Skiing Safety, Keystone, CO, May 2011.

Stepan L, Scher I, Thomas R. Protective capabilities of a watersports helmet for boom-to-head impacts during sailing. ASME 2010 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Naples, FL, USA, June 2010, Paper ID: SBC2010-19717

Richards D, Scher I, Carhart M. Kinematics of a snowboard fall: Implications for snowboard helmet testing. Journal of ASTM International 2008; 5(6) (Paper ID JAI101406). Also in: Skiing Trauma and Safety, 17th Volume, ASTM STP 1510, 2009.

Scher I, Richards D, Carhart M, Thomas R, Hurlen N, Lam T. Pediatric head and neck injuries in snow sports: Evaluating the influence of helmets. Journal of ASTM International 2008; 5(4) (Paper ID JAI101400). Also in: Skiing Trauma and Safety, 17th Volume, ASTM STP 1510, 2009

Scher I, Harley E, Richards D, Thomas R. Likelihood of brain injury in motorcycle accidents: A comparison of novelty and DOT-approved helmets. SAE Paper 2009-01-0248, Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., Warrendale, PA, 2009.

Richards D, Ivarsson J, Scher I, Thomas R. Modern hockey equipment and its relationship to head injuries. Abstract presented at the Biennial Meeting of the International Symposium on Safety in Ice Hockey, Denver, CO, May 2008.

Shealy J. Do helmets decrease the incidence of death or only alter the cause of death? Journal of ASTM International. 2008. 5(6). Abstract presented at the International Congress on Skiing Trauma and Safety, Aviemore, Scotland, May 2007.

Scher I, Richards D, Carhart M. Head injury in snowboarding: Evaluating the protective role of helmets. Journal of ASTM International 2006; 3(4) (Paper ID JAI14203). Also in: Skiing Trauma and Safety, 16th Volume, ASTM STP 9034, 2006.

Scher I, Trachtman D, Young D, Dubey A. Falling objects: Is there really a potential for head injury?  Abstract presented at the Annual Bioengineering Conference of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Vail, CO, June 2005.

Shealy J. The role of helmets in mitigation of serious and fatal head injuries. 1st World Sports Injury Research Conference, Oslo, Norway, June 2005. Invited presentation.

Shealy J, Ettlinger C, Johnson R. Head trauma and helmet usage in recreational skiing.  Abstract presented at the International Congress on Skiing Trauma and Safety, Niigata, Japan, April 2005.

Shealy J, Ettlinger C, Johnson R. Head injuries and helmets in alpine sports. Abstract presented at the International Congress on Skiing Trauma and Safety, Queenstown, New Zealand, August 2001.

Shealy J, Ettlinger C. Helmets for recreational skiers and snowboarders: An idea whose time has come? Presented at the F27 meeting in Burlington, VT, August 1995.