JHU Eng 2002-5 (undergrads invent safer whitewater helmet)

[Dennis O'Shea]

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION
3003 N. Charles Street, Suite 100
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-3843
Phone: (410) 516-7160 / Fax (410) 516-5251

May 15, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Phil Sneiderman
(410) 516-7907
prs@jhu.edu

WHITEWATER DEATH INSPIRES STUDENTS TO CREATE SAFER HELMET
Undergraduate Engineers Use Inexpensive Materials, Improved Design to Boost 
Protection

With support from a grieving father and injury prevention researchers, two 
Johns Hopkins engineering students have designed and fabricated a new 
whitewater recreation helmet to better protect rafters and kayakers from 
life-threatening head injuries. The prototype and specifications will be 
patented by a nonprofit foundation that plans to mass-produce and sell the 
headgear at cost. Injury prevention experts also hope the project will 
bolster efforts to adopt stronger safety standards for whitewater helmets, 
similar to those in place for bicycle helmets and other sports gear.

The issue was brought to the attention of Johns Hopkins by Gil Turner, a 
Park City, Utah, resident whose 22-year-old son, Lucas Brandon Turner, died 
in 1998 while kayaking on the Payette River in Idaho. "He was an expert 
whitewater kayaker, but somehow he was thrown into the river," Turner said. 
"The force of the water pushed him head-first into a large boulder. He 
would have survived if his helmet had stayed in place, but it slipped 
backward and exposed his forehead. He sustained a fatal blow to the center 
of his forehead." The incident led Turner, a retired businessman, to found 
the Whitewater Research and Safety Institute, which co-funded the safer 
helmet development project with the Center for Injury Research and Policy 
at The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of  Public Health.

The job of designing and fabricating the whitewater helmet was handed to 
two seniors enrolled in the Department of Mechanical Engineering's Senior 
Design Project course: Michael Cordeiro, a 21-year-old mechanical 
engineering major from Easton, Md., and Chang Lee, 22, of Atlanta, who was 
completing a dual major in biomedical engineering and engineering mechanics.
The undergraduates were asked to study head injuries that occurred in 
whitewater sports and to design a helmet that would better absorb shocks 
and prevent injuries. The helmet had to be lightweight (less than 30 
ounces), buoyant in water and durable enough to survive repeated collisions 
with hard objects. It required straps that would hold the helmet in place 
even in fast-moving water. It had to cost less than $30 per helmet to 
manufacture and be comfortable and aesthetically pleasing enough to appeal 
to whitewater enthusiasts.

The year-long project concluded this month when Cordeiro and Lee unveiled a 
prototype helmet and subjected it to several tests designed to replicate 
whitewater conditions. The undergraduates attached the helmet to a dummy 
head, marked its position, then blasted it with a high-pressure fire hose 
that unleashed water moving at about 30 mph. The straps held the helmet 
firmly in place, indicating it should continue to protect a wearer's head, 
even in a fast-moving river. The students also assembled an impact-test 
apparatus to mimic a high-speed collision between the helmet and a rock. 
Their test indicated the prototype helmet should absorb enough energy to 
prevent a serious head injury.

Much of the helmet's protective power comes from three layers of EVA foam 
installed inside the shell. Each layer consists of a different density of 
closed-cell material, which will not absorb water if the wearer falls into 
a stream. The shell is made of rugged ABS plastic. Plastic head coverings 
are usually produced through an expensive molding process. But Cordeiro and 
Lee dramatically reduced the cost of their prototype helmet by using a 
high-tech rapid prototyping machine, which applies the plastic in a 
computer-guided shape through a process that resembles three-dimensional 
ink-jet printing. Ultimately, they spent only $5,400 to design, fabricate 
and test their prototype helmet.

"It was really rewarding to see it come together," said Lee. "We got what 
we were looking for, what we were designing for." Added Cordeiro: "This was 
a research project where we actually got to see something important come 
out of it – a product that could save people's lives."

Currently no industry nor government safety standards exist for whitewater 
helmets in the United States, said Michael Ho, a Center for Injury Research 
and Policy staff member who monitored the students' efforts. "Our center 
co-sponsored this project because we wanted to show that it is possible to 
design and construct a helmet for whitewater use that adhered to standards 
that we asked the students to develop through their research," Ho said. 
"The statistics related to whitewater injuries are unreliable, but we do 
know that among the fatal cases, the mechanism of death tends to be a 
combination of impact to the head and drowning. The whitewater industry and 
the people who enjoy these sports need to begin talking about standards for 
a helmet that could do a better job of preventing such injuries."

The safer whitewater helmet was one of 11 Johns Hopkins projects completed 
this year by undergraduates in the Senior Design Project course. The class 
is taught by Andrew F. Conn, a Johns Hopkins graduate with more than 30 
years of experience in public and private research and development. Each 
team of two or three students, working within budgets of up to $10,000, had 
to design a device, purchase or fabricate the parts, and assemble the final 
product. Corporations, government agencies and nonprofit groups provided 
the assignments and funding. The course is traditionally a well-received 
hands-on engineering experience for Johns Hopkins undergraduates.

[Video footage and color photos of helmet tests and students available; 
contact Phil Sneiderman]

Related Links:
View a video about this project: 
http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/audio-video/helmet.html

Johns Hopkins Department of Mechanical Engineering: http://www.me.jhu.edu

Center for Injury Research & Policy: http://www.jhsph.edu/Research/Centers/CIRP

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