Completely agree with all of this.
It’s a great start, but I hope people aren’t going to jump to conclusions and use this solely to choose what to buy. It’s a pretty limited study, super interesting re: repeated low impacts but also not suuuuper representative of what impacts helmets will see. I think this will potentially be most relevant to people that have minor falls a lot but can’t replace helmets every time so they fall with the same helmet over and over for years 
I am TRYING to understand the methods (Test conditions included three impact locations (Table 1) and two impact speeds (4.0 and 6.3 m/s). Helmet position on the headform was set according to fitting guidelines provided by the manufacturer. Four samples of each helmet model were subjected to one impact per location and speed. Two trials were performed at each of the six test configurations, producing a total of 12 impacts per helmet model.) but…2 impact speeds with 3 types of impact is 6 then you do two rounds of tests which is 12 but are you testing each helmet 12 times or are you testing 4 helmets 3 times for a total of 12?
Either way, we are supposed to get rid of a helmet after the first head strike, not the third (or 12th). I would additionally assume that if one part of the helmet was compromised from a fall, the other areas of the helmet would also be compromised. That would lead to subsequent falls having a higher likelihood of injury regardless.
Edit to add more ranting: I would be extremely interested to see this study as one strike per helmet in each of the scenarios (speed and location). I feel like that gives us the most accurate data. I also need to look into how MIPS was studied now…
This lab seems to be one that started with studying things like football helmets, are they required to replace their helmets with the same regularity that’s encouraged to horseback riders? Are there equestrians on the research team? Just food for thought.
If you watch this video, also linked above, they are clear they purchased 4 helmets of each model. and subject each to 3 tests. (1 test per location) Each of the 3 locations is tested at 2 speeds.
Emily
Interesting article
The article from Ride EquiSafe is touching briefly on the highlights of what we will discuss at length on the webinar.
I know, because I have seen the questions from the nearly 600 people registered for the event. There is a TON of pushback on the use of male head forms. It’s kind of interesting that that is the biggest issue, but it is what it is.
Worth noting, the folks who are behind MIPS are also wanting to do a webinar soon. VERY soon.
So I will have that coming shortly. we are finalizing dates now. But this is slightly more of a big deal since their perspective is very interesting given how many sports the device has been adjusted to work in helmets for. Additionally they’re agreeing to do a webinar around 2 am in the morning their time to get to talk to an American Audience about MIPS and this study in particular.
MIPS came out with a press release about this study yesterday and they’re pointing to some issues in the testing that could be better.
Emily
I had a Protege too (also an oval head). I had a moderate crash in it. It cracked horribly to the left of the impact point, but I had a squeaky clean head CT.
Wow! Incredible to see the inside as just foam and tape, isn’t it? I bounced a Protege off a painted, rough wooden fence last year, with my head in it, hard enough to leave impact marks on both the fence and the helmet, and I was ok too.
Did they account for the fact that each time we have an impact, we tend to replace helmets, though? My concern is that these results are less generalizable based off of industry standard practice as I would assume any previous impacts would leave the helmet compromised? (I will watch that video! Just replying very quickly between work meetings. Thank you for that!)
It really is!
Glad you were unscathed! Hooray for helmets doing their job!
I don’t understand the argument in this article that helmet shape didn’t matter because all the helmets fit the headform. I don’t understand how every helmet could fit the same headform equally well. I wish my head fit every helmet equally well. This headform must be like those magical saddles that fit every horse.
“ Does the shape of the helmet tested matter? NO. There was a lot of conversation about if the helmets tested were long oval or round. For the purposes of the test, it doesn’t matter. It matters that the helmet fit the headform.”
So here’s my layperson understanding.
ASTM allows 4 impacts per helmet. (front, side, side, back)
We replace a helmet because once it is impacted the foam where the impact occurred has done it’s job and has been compromised for the SAFETY OF A HUMAN.
During these tests the focal areas of impact are quite small, relatively, and able to be controlled in the testing environment. That said… because it’s a head form, and not a live brain, the helmet can be focally impacted in multiple spots to ascertain the forces and such at each location.
Also this is where those science, math and physics classes come in. You’re testing reactive pressures and forces and such. The impact on the front with the pendulum doesn’t affect the ability to do the same test on the back. With a human head you cannot (or should not) hit a brain twice. But you can carefully in a controlled way, hit helmets more than once.
Since the helmets are procured (and paid for) by the lab from regular online sellers, it’s accounted for ahead of time and they bought the numbers that they needed to meet all the testing needs. This also accounts for part of why some helmets were not tested yet. Supply chain issues have hampered the helmet market regularly since 2019. Ask any Trauma Void lover like myself, and as such it wasn’t always possible to find and purchase 4 or more of all the models that are needing to be tested. There is more testing coming and for sure there is a mountain of more helmets to test.
40 actually is an impressive number if you consider that this means they had almost 500 helmets to work with. I know when I was at the lab in August it felt like there were helmets EVERYWHERE I went.
Em
Here is the VT table comparing the various standards.
After reading the documents in the VT Helmet Lab publications list…And specifically the Equestrian STAR Protocol, I still have lots of questions about the statistical rigor of this work.
Then I would assume you would sign up for the webinar so you can ask him pertinent questions to get the answers these docs are not yet giving you to satisfy your curiosity.
Em
Yes. Done.
Friday 5:15 pm update.
We have 635 people registered for the Live Webinar with Q & A with Dr. Miller from the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab Study this Monday 12/12/22 at 7pm.
My Zoom account is upgraded and I can handle 1000 people. NOT 1001, only 1000 including me.
So anyone who has not yet signed up should do so quickly.
The form you must use is here and you can submit your own questions.
https://forms.gle/SP9pYG3Uz2EGHyu3A
Fair warning, the following areas are already WELL covered by existing questions:
Helmet Shapes
Helmet form gender usage/ future uses (Women & youth)
High vs Low impacts
Proper Fit of helmets on testing head forms
MIPS related questions*
Impact of the Brims in testing
Comparing all the different studies versus certifications
What happens next
More helmets being tested
Thanks so much!!
Em
I felt the same!! I kept my Sportage Hybrid, but honestly I’m still looking at these rankings in disbelief… not ready to pull it out of storage yet and chuck my $$$ Windsor out.
Thank you Em for all you are doing to bring this study out to wide awareness and to organize these webinars. Thanks also for your patience with all the panicking people in the facebook group and the work you are doing to help them get their questions answered. It’s a lot of work and a lot of energy and a lot of spoons and our whole sport will be better for it.
If someone is not interested in asking a question (since so many are already covered) but they are signed up, would it be worthwhile to cancel their signup and just listen…can it work that way?
Will the webinar be available for review afterward? There’s a public discussion on trying to keep our local extension animal lab open at the same time, and I probably shouldn’t be streaming this while I’m there.
Well I submitted my questions. But I think my most important question was “Will the above questions result in a change in the design of future studies?” But really not just my questions but everyone’s. I recommend everyone look at the cyclist test which I feel better represents the majority of my crashes than the pendulum method.
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