Are the equipment affecting the safety of football?

The study found that football

helmets provided protection from linear impacts, or those leading to bruising and skull fracture.
Compared to tests using dummies with no helmets, leading football helmets reduced the risk of
skull fracture by 60 to 70 percent and reduced the risk of focal brain tissue bruising by 70 to 80
percent(aan.com/concussion). For the study, researchers modified the standard drop test
system, approved by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment,
that tests impacts and helmet safety. The researchers used a crash test dummy head and neck to
simulate impact. Sensors were also placed in the dummys head to measure linear and rotational
responses to repeated 12 mile-per-hour impacts. The scientists conducted 330 tests to measure
how well 10 popular football helmet designs protected against traumatic brain injury, including:
Adams a2000, Rawlings Quantum, Riddell 360, Riddell Revolution, Riddell Revolution Speed,
Riddell VSR4, Schutt Air Advantage, Schutt DNA Pro+, Xenith X1 and Xenith
X2(aan.com/concussion). Lee Hanson, founder of the firm making the Guardian Cap, says his
product reduces head impacts "up to 33%" in lab tests. He gave out the caps for testing in 2011,
sold about 8,000 in 2012 ($55 individually with team discounts) and anticipated about 12,000
being used among youth, high school and college teams across the USA and Canada this year.
Thirty-five states have schools and/or leagues using at least 20 Guardian Caps. The Guardian
Caps have compartments padded with foam rubber that are arranged on top of the helmets, and
Hanson says using these compartments dissipates energy better than a solid shell. One issue is
whether soft shells might stick together or be more easily grabbed and cause neck injuries.
Hanson says his caps "just slip off of each other." Player safety has become the catch-phrase for
colleges and pro football, with the NCAA and the NFL also facing lawsuits over concussions.
Punishment in college football this season for "targeting" taking aim, especially at the head or

neck, with apparent intent beyond a legal tackle or block will include ejection. The NFL is
requiring players to wear more pads and will penalize running backs who lead with the crown of
their helmets. Hits happen. Assorted devices are designed to sense them and measure them.
Riddell's InSite Impact Response System includes a sensor pad in the liner of the helmet that
transmits when certain impact levels are exceeded to a handheld "alert monitor" on the sideline.
Software stores data on player histories of exposures to hits. It's priced at $150 per helmet (if
you already have a helmet) and the monitor is free with 12 helmet units ($200 if bought
separately). The product is an offshoot of Riddell systems used by college teams and
researchers. "It's just an extra set of eyes ... to just pull the athlete off the field as soon as
possible after a light is triggered to assess the athlete," says Bob Rich, Reebok director of
advanced concepts. Chris Nowinski, co-founder of Boston's Sports Legacy Institute, advocates a
"Hit Count" to keep head impacts, especially in youths, at a minimum: "Simply trying to get
fewer yellows and reds (with CheckLight) is important." Patrick Kersey, medical director of the
USA Football national youth organization, says sensors are promising but not yet of proven
value(Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY Sports).