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| Body Armor Blunt Trauma Assessment |
Army Science and Technology Objective: IV.ME.2002.02
Problem
Soldiers need body armor to protect them from the entire spectrum of injury, from penetrating to blunt trauma. However, body armor developers lack biomedically-valid methods to test the effectiveness of body armor in preventing life-threatening blunt trauma injuries. As a consequence, future body armor systems may protect soldiers from penetrating injuries; yet allow serious or lethal blunt trauma injuries. The current National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard for body armor performance is based on research performed more than 20 years ago, has been challenged as to its validity for soft body armor, and has never been validated for high velocity projectiles impacting hard ceramic armor plates, which is the primary threat currently faced by U.S. military forces. Furthermore, the NIJ standard may be too conservative for soft body armor and too liberal for hard body armor.
Medical Research Solution
Employ novel force characterization techniques, advanced human and animal finite element modeling, and animal injury validation studies to correlate measured forces behind body armor to blunt trauma injury. Use the injury correlation as the basis for injury prediction software that will convert the forces measured with a body armor test module to predictions of blunt trauma injury.
Products
A biomedically valid, user friendly, and cost effective body armor blunt trauma testing method for body armor developers. The testing method will include an anthropomorphic test module and injury prediction software. Body armor developers will test body armor by strapping the armor onto the test module and firing a projectile at it. The injury prediction software will use the force measurements from the test module to compute the probability and severity of blunt trauma injury. This testing method will enable body armor developers to produce lighter, more comfortable, and effective body armor.
Last Update: April 2, 2003