Instrumented Football Helmet

1. Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Prof. Dougherty Matthew Wellner Adam McCauley Advisor: Dr. Chun Shawn Kachnowski Joseph Jackson Instrumented Football Helmet

2. Importance of System Development • Since 1945, there has been at least one football fatality each year • In the NFL an average of about four concussions per weekend occur • 250,000 of the 1.5 million high school football players in the US will suffer a concussion per year

3. Importance of Development (cont’d) • Many less severe concussions often get overlooked because they do not cause significant short term damage • However, research has shown that athletes with a concussion history are more prone to future severe concussions • Having empirical data that confirms serious head trauma improves diagnosis accuracy

4. Accelerometer Analog Voltage 18pF Circuit Design +9V 7805 +5V +5V LDI086V33 +3.3V Chip Select Serial Clk +V 20 2 3 4 A0 A1 A2 1KΩ 1KΩ 1KΩ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 CS DI GND 3.3V CLK GND DO PIC16F873A 2KΩ 2KΩ 2KΩ MMC 13 14 15 16 SCK SDI SDO 4MHz Data 8,19

5. Importance of Development (cont’d) • Monitoring of head acceleration is crucial to the safety of athletes • Having empirical data that confirms serious head trauma allows for more accurate diagnosis

6. Design Differences • Smaller Scale Development • Current HITS System Helmet costs $2000 per helmet • Our system will be made affordable to a wider range of teams • Cost of our instrumented helmet is roughly double the cost of a standard helmet

7. QFD Diagram

8. Functional Requirements • Withstand Strong Impact • Strong Circuit Interconnections • Must be able to maintain temperature • Must have a substantial battery life • The electronics must be safely stored

9. Requirements Continued • Information retrieval must be fast • 3 Axis accelerometer will be used • The system must be capable of making accurate measurements • Must be maintained and repaired easily • Removable, standard size memory card

10. Principle Components of System Design

11. Circuit Design

12. Helmet Configuration Considerations • Amount of impact electronics must endure • Sampling Rate – Degree of Accuracy • Space Inside the Helmet • Comfort after Integration of Electronics • Cost of the Helmet System • Positioning of Sensory Electronics

14. Tri-Axial Accelerometer

15. Cost (including helmet) • Accelerometer $31.25 • PIC Microcontroller $ 7.15 • Memory Card Connector $ 3.74 • Battery $20.00 • Memory Card (256MB) $19.50 • Helmet $65.00 ~$150.00

16. 1 or 1000? • How many accelerometers are needed? • What are the benefits of many accelerometers • Increased confidence / Provides verification • Better representation of movement • Increased accuracy • What are benefits of just one accelerometer? (Our Design) • Easier system integration • Less power consumption • Less development costs

17. Three Stage Test Plan • Testing of individual sensory circuit • Testing of individual data processing software • Testing of the complete system of integrated components

18. Future Hurdles in System Development • Exact Analysis of extracted data • Acceleration Severity Index (ASI) • Head Injury Criterion (HIC) • Software Development • Cooperation with VU Athletic Department for system testing and implementation

19. Questions?