Development of the STAR Evaluation System for Assessing Bicycle Helmet Protective Performance

Cycling is a leading cause of mild traumatic brain injury in the US. While bicycle helmets help protect cyclists who crash, limited biomechanical data exist differentiating helmet protective capabilities. This paper describes the development of a bicycle helmet evaluation scheme based in real-world...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnals of biomedical engineering Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 47 - 57
Main Authors Bland, Megan L., McNally, Craig, Zuby, David S., Mueller, Becky C., Rowson, Steven
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.01.2020
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Accidents
Bicycles
Bicycling
Biochemistry
Biological and Medical Physics
Biomechanics
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering
Biomedicine
Biophysics
Brain
Classical Mechanics
Concussion
Head injuries
Helmets
Kinematics
Protective equipment
Risk analysis
Slip planes
Traumatic brain injury
Impact
Biomechanics
Cycling
Concussion
Injury risk
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Summary:Cycling is a leading cause of mild traumatic brain injury in the US. While bicycle helmets help protect cyclists who crash, limited biomechanical data exist differentiating helmet protective capabilities. This paper describes the development of a bicycle helmet evaluation scheme based in real-world cyclist accidents and brain injury mechanisms. Thirty helmet models were subjected to oblique impacts at six helmet locations and two impact velocities. The summation of tests for the analysis of risk (STAR) equation, which condenses helmet performance from a range of tests into a single value, was used to summarize measured linear and rotational head kinematics in the context of concussion risk. STAR values varied between helmets (10.9–25.3), with lower values representing superior protection. Road helmets produced lower STAR values than urban helmets. Helmets with slip planes produced lower STAR values than helmets without. This bicycle helmet evaluation protocol can educate consumers on the relative impact performance of various helmets and stimulate safer helmet design.
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Associate Editor Joel Stitzel oversaw the review of this article.
ISSN:0090-6964
1573-9686
DOI:10.1007/s10439-019-02330-0