Concussions are a continued hot topic for the game of football. From 2013 to 2015 NCAA football teams reported four per team, about one per season, but this doesn’t count the unreported ones or more minor head impacts that can accumulate and be just as dangerous. Vicis, a company based in Seattle, is attempting to combat concussions with a new helmet.
The helmet, the Vicis Zero1, focuses on lessening the impact on player’s head and sizing the helmet perfectly to a player so there is no room for movement upon impact. The University of Washington has had a generous donor cover the costs of the helmets so every player could wear them. Washington was also very interested in the technology because the idea for the helmet came out of UW’s New Ventures Facility.
The helmet was developed by a team of engineers and neurosurgeons to make sure it was effective for play. The helmet itself is made of three parts to ensure maximum safety. The first part is the “Lode Shell”, instead of being a hard plastic shell like other helmets, this shell works like a car bumper by deforming on impact. The next part is the “Vicis RFLX” which is a much more advanced structure than a normal helmet, which just has the hard shell on the exterior and padding on the interior. The RFLX is a column structure that sits between the hardshell and the inner part of the helmet, and moves in all directions when impacted, therefore absorbing impact.
The shell and RFLX layer together to reduce impact forces, much like a car would in a crash. The third part is the fit. VICIS has developed their own fit system which measures both head length and circumference measurements to get the right size. After studying and measuring the heads of hundreds of current and former NFL players they have created twelve different sizing combinations. With the fit comes the “FORM Liner” which is the foam lining that conforms to the player’s head.
UW will be one of two NCAA programs wearing the latest in helmet technology. #PurpleReign https://t.co/FCv821T9zw pic.twitter.com/z9bZnBwJVE
— UW Football (@UW_Football) August 2, 2016
The only issue is the cost of the helmet. Vicis hasn’t had trouble getting the funds to create the helmet as they have about $10 million dollars in investment for 2016. But the helmet itself is $1,500, which is very high compared to competitors like Riddell that sell helmets in the $200-400 range. If more donors or investors are willing to give the helmets to teams, both pro and college, the rate of concussions could vastly decrease based on the early success around Vicis helmets.