Face shield 'could lower brain injury among troops'RSS Feed

Adding a face shield to military helmets could lower the incidence of traumatic brain injury among troops, according to researchers.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that an improved design of helmet for US troops, which shields the face using transparent bulletproof glass, would reduce the stress of explosion on the brain.

The current helmet, which leaves the face exposed, only slightly delays the effect of blasts, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

When face shields were used on models, they showed a significant reduction of stresses on the brain due to a lack of direct transmission of blast waves to the face.

This is because the face is the main pathway in which pressure waves from an explosion impact on the brain.

Over half of combat injuries sustained by soldiers from the US military result from explosion and traumatic brain injury make up many of this number, according to the US Department of Defense.

News from Serious Law, specialist acquired brain injury solicitors

Posted by John Sherrington
 

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