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Helmet researchers work to improve the outcome of anybody who takes a hit to their head, regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or political leaning. Perhaps no one is more passionate about protecting human brains than Peter Halldin.
One case in particular grabbed his attention. When a motocross crash put a rider in a coma for a year despite wearing state-of-the-art body protection and a full-face helmet, Halldin was inexorably drawn to understand why.
This rider was leading a motocross race on a lumpy, serpentine course repeatedly doubling back on itself, when he was suddenly hit from the side by a flying motorcycle. The throttle on that motorcycle had gotten stuck, and its rider, who was far back in the pack, couldn’t make the next turn and zoomed crosswise between back-and-forth folds of the course.
Becoming airborne as he crossed the course in front of the leading riders, his front fender hit the right side of the race leader’s helmet. Though receiving no fractures, lacerations, or abrasions, its wearer suffered massive brain injuries and a coma.
His helmet did what it was designed to do; it prevented skull fracture, thanks to the thick layer of energy-absorbing EPS foam surrounding the rider’s head. However, the hematomas (swelling of clotted blood) the rider suffered in his frontal lobe and rear part of his brain rendered those areas […]
Continue reading the original article at: www.velonews.com