The devastating effects of concussions have become a growing concern for athletic associations around the world but they affect none more so than the NFL and American football. A research group at the University of Florida is combatting this issue by attempting to develop a helmet that truly can reduce the risk of concussions which they say not a single helmet on the market does at this point in time.

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In recent years the league has received backlash for not taking action to combat the number of head injuries there players are receiving. Claims have been made that they are sweeping it under the rug because it will be an expensive fix. This is possible but in reality the technology to protect the brain from severe, repeated head trauma just doesn’t exist. Players have begun to take the threat of concussions more seriously but it still happens rather frequently. A concussion is the affect of the brain being forced around inside the skull from a forceful blow which, as you can imagine, happens rather frequently in football. The problems that stem from a concussion can last for an extended period of time and can compound with added blows to the head possible even resulting in permanent brain damage. The concern is that fully developed adults are not the only ones affected by these head injuries and often it is children and young adults which can cause serious issues in the development of a young brain.

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The obstacle to overcome is the physics of a hit in a contact sport like football. Your brain reacts in the same manner that your body does when you slam on the brakes in your car. Inertia causes you to continue forward and even though a helmet will brace the impact, that sudden stop is launching the brain in one direction adding pressure between the brain and skull, resulting in damage. The innovative solution for this revolves around the concept of a non-Newtonian fluid. It gets this name because it does not follow Newton’s law of viscosity. To put it simply, this material is similar to Silly Putty but with the added feature that when pressure is added, it increases its resistance and distributes the force but once released, it can turn to a liquid and flow out of your hand. It may be the reason that young athletes can play while maintaining some semblance of safety.

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The Florida team has developed a helmet model that incorporates this fluid while also adding a precise system of straps to ensure there is little to no movement of the helmet while being worn to ensure consistence in their safety measurements. The helmet uses cells housing pouches that are filled with this fluid to act as a barrier of protection against impact and the absorbed shock is then redistributed. They believe this could provide actual protection to players of all ages and lead to the development of other braces and armor to be used in sports and military applications.

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The potential for a much-needed product is there. With the support of medical and athletic associations, hopefully something can be accomplished to drastically reduce the number of young people living with debilitating head injuries.