Safety and compatiblity of the helmet

Source: www.sporttiche.com

The economic principle I’m exploring is “Institutions are the “rules of the game” that influence choices. ”

My research question to help me study the economic principle is “How is the NFL reacting to safety concerns”

How this New Football Helmet is Designed to Protect the Brain By: Forbes

The article published in Forbes titled “ How This New Football Helmet Is Designed To Protect The Brain” demonstrates this economic principle by showing that finding the appearance that's fitting for people isn't hard, constructing the design isn't hard, but making the helmet safe enough to protect everyone from head injuries, now that is a challenge.

The NFL is reacting to safety concerns by creating higher-tech safety helmets that have more protection and resistance helping out head injuries.

First, This article starts off by talking about the characteristics of the helmet. They start off by saying that finding the appearance that's fitting for people isn't hard, constructing the design isn't hard, but making the helmet safe enough for players to use and be safe from lethal and deadly injuries as well. Form, function, and safety aren’t the easiest to combine. It talks about how if you really want the helmets to be extremely safe and durable, then you’re going to have to look like spongebob when you’re playing out there. I thought this was pretty funny, but true as well. There can’t just be helmets that are two to three times bigger than the ones currently used. Also the fans will think it isn’t fashionable or looks weird and then they’re going to have to replace the regular helmets with oversized helmets in a lot of scenarios. For example, shirts will have huge helmets on them, kids might start wearing these huge helmets, and also these helmets will weigh you down and cause strain on your neck, so it’s not really the best idea the article said.

Second,  The researchers were allowed to use computational modeling to help find the best and most fitting design. They also tried using the helmet on a brain in the computational modeling to see how it would affect the brain and to see if it would be safer than the alternative of the normal helmet. Also the new technology has attracted a lot of attention including the NFL. The company has raised a total of seventy million dollars from investors. I think its cool how this design has been tested on a computer to see how it would react with the helmet. Also the company has gotten a lot of attention and many investors including the NFL being interested in the helmet. It could be a great innovative idea that could help keep players safer.

Third, The VICIS team has the medical and engineering expertise but reached out to another company, Artefact, to further help with the design and safety. This obviously shows that the company is working on the design so that it’s compatible for the players and even the fans. They also want to have the helmet be as safe as possible so that they can help with the injuries of players and make football more of a popular sport than what it is. They also have to create the helmet safe enough and have a design cool enough for the people and players to like. If this ends up how they’re planning it to be then more people will be able to play the sport knowing that it is a lot safer regarding head injuries. Also more parents will be susceptible to letting their kids to play the sport and they won’t have to worry as much about the danger of the sport.

In my next blog post I will research the question: What kind of technology background is used that makes the helmet safer?