When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
The human brain is an amazing organ, and the skull that protects it is pretty awesome, too. The skull is the perfect protective carrying case for the most important part of our neuro-system — except when it isn’t. A hard blow to the head can jostle the brain inside the skull enough that it collides with the interior of the cranium 
— and a concussion occurs.
— and a concussion occurs.
A concussion can be serious. According to the Mayo Clinic, complications from a concussion can range from headaches, dizziness and difficulty thinking starting a few days after the injury to progressive, seriously debilitating impairment following repeated concussions.
Whenever we engage in an activity that puts us at risk of a concussion, it makes sense to try to protect our brains. It’s why anyone engaging in sports with a high-risk of head injuries, like football or cycling, is required to wear a helmet. Despite our best efforts at protection, however, millions of children and adults suffer sports-related concussions every year, multiple studies show.
A few years ago, we blogged about UCLA researchers’ efforts to create a better type of football helmet using a polymer that was designed to absorb impacts. With recent headlines about settlement of a class-action lawsuit by professional football players who suffered concussions, we thought this might be a good time to do an update on helmet technology advances and how polymer science is playing a role in improving players’ safety.
- Virginia Tech has been helping football and hockey players, as well as parents, make more informed decisions about helmet choices since 2011. Without any funding or influence from helmet manufacturers, the school rates helmets based on a series of impact tests. The tests evaluate a helmet’s ability to reduce the risk of concussion. Ratings for football helmets and hockey helmet ratings are available for free on the school’s website.
- Technology Review reports University of Michigan researchers are working on new helmet technology that could dissipate much of the kinetic energy of a concussion — the force that causes the brain to slosh around inside the cerebral fluid and bump the inside of the skull. It manages the force by using multiple polymer layers. Stiff outer layers alter the frequency of the shockwave caused by an impact, so that when the wave reaches an interior viscoelastic layer, it’s within the frequency range the material is able to absorb.
- University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed a color-changing polymer-based material that could help alert players and coaches that a player’s helmet has taken a hit hard enough to cause a concussion, Engineering and Technology Magazine reports. When force is applied to the material, which contains photonic crystals, it causes a molecular reaction that makes the crystals change color. The color varies depending on the amount of force/severity of the blow.
- Vicis, a Seattle-based startup, is developing a football helmet that crumples, Bloomberg reports. Managing force with a material the crumples has been standard in the auto industry and bicycle helmets for years. It hasn’t been practical for football helmets, however, since the helmets need to be able to remain usable through repeated hits. Vicis’ new helmet type manages force with a soft, deformable outer shell that reforms after a hit, a second layer of vertical struts — made from a polymer commonly used in the auto industry — that bend to slow impact forces, a foam liner, and a final hard inner shell.
Polymers and materials science play a key role in all these developments — just one more way science can make life better, safer and more fun!
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