Protective sensor to detect head injuries? When one receives a blow to the head, it may happen that they do not realize how serious its effect are before it’s too late and there is unfortunately nothing to do. In order to assess the level of harm caused by underestimated impacts, especially to the head of soldiers on a battlefield, BAE Systems has just developed the second generation of a system that allows to evaluate the effect of such impacts.
How a Protective sensor helps in detecting head injuries?
This system is called HEADS, standing for Headborne Energy Analysis and Diagnostic System, it is made up of sensors mounted inside the soldiers’ protective helmet and is in use with the Marines since a couple of years already.
In the new version of HEADS, which has just been introduced at the Farnborough Air Show and will be available as of next April, a small LED display is mounted on the front of the helmet, and it would glow in case of impact, with different colors depending on severity of the blow, thus visually signaling the possible presence of an undetected brain injury, which can be caused for example when the head rebounds following to an explosions nearby.
Furthermore, HEADS protective sensor is equipped with a radio transmitter, which can send an immediate alert to its control center. Thanks to this technological equipment, medical personnel in the area can promptly intervene if necessary.
These sensor do not only detect the explosions or a trauma, but can also measure the direction of impact, its strength and duration, as well as the pressure that the head has been going through, and the number of relevant impacts suffered. The relevant data can be downloaded to a PC by USB cable or transmitted wirelessly, to be analyzed by medical personnel.