Facilitated By

San Antonio Medical Foundation

SwRI researchers develop human head surrogate for behind-helmet blunt trauma research

Southwest Research Institute

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is one of the oldest and largest independent, nonprofit, applied research and development (R&D) organizations in the United States.

Principal Investigator(s)
Christopher J. Freitas, Ph.D.
James T. Mathis
Nikki Scott
Rory P. Bigger
Collaborating Institutions
U.S. Office of Naval Research, Lightweight Individual Modular Body armoR (LIMBR)
Funded by
U.S. Office of Naval Research
Research Start Date
Status
Active

The SwRI-developed human head surrogate and its test methodology show great potential for providing insights into injuries resulting from a variety of ballistic threats. With it, designers will be able to craft helmets that offer improved protection for warfighters.

SwRI Protecting the Warfighter
The human head surrogate has a suite of embedded instrumentation for measuring intracranial pressure, cranial strain and triaxial accelerations.



Based on the success of this project, SwRI researchers have submitted a white paper to the NFL Under Armour GE Head Health Challenge II, an initiative for developing new technologies and materials for protecting professional football players’ brains from traumatic injury.

Collaborative Project
Biomechanics
Neuroscience
Musculoskeletal
Trauma