Vicis, a venture-backed startup company in Seattle, is developing a football helmet that will protect players against traumatic brain injury, according to GeekWire.
Today’s polycarbonate football helmets are based on designs developed in the 70s. According to Vicis, while these helmets protect against skull fracture, they do not adequately mitigate the forces likely to cause TBI.
Vicis is a University of Washington spinoff company that brings together experts in sports injury and mechanical engineering. The Vicis helmet design “helps reduce the linear and rotational acceleration during impact, while also protecting against skull fracture,” according to the GeekWire report.
The company’s management team includes chief medical officer Sam Browd, MD, PhD, medical director of the Sports Concussion Program at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Seattle Children’s partners with Harborview Medical Center to provide Level I pediatric trauma services to Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.