MIPS - Safety for helmets
Historically, helmets have been designed to protect against straight impacts, with the primary purpose of protecting against skull fractures. However, impacts at an angle are a more common accident but despite this, current regulatory certification standards do not cover this type of injury risk despite the fact that the human brain is more sensitive to rotational movements that occur in angled impacts compared to straight impacts.
ANGLED IMPACT
Traditional helmets are designed and tested primarily for straight impacts, but most impacts are angled which can cause head rotation to occur. The EN397 standard currently has no tests for rotation.
SENSITIVE BRAIN
Research has shown that the brain is extra sensitive to angled impacts, which can result in long-term brain damage that is difficult to recover from.
ROTATIONAL ENERGY
The MIPS low-friction protection in Guardio’s helmets is designed to reduce the rotation of the head during certain angled impacts, thus reducing the risk of brain injuries.
HOW MIPS WORKS IN SAFETY HELMETS
Inspired by the brain's own defense mechanism
THE BRAIN’S CEREBROSPINAL FLUID ACTS AS A SHOCK ABSORBER
The development of the MIPS low-friction layer is based on many years of study of the biomechanical properties of the human brain. The brain is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid which protects it by allowing it to slide when subjected to an angled impact. The MIPS low-friction layer mimics the cerebrospinal fluid and adds a low-friction layer that enables a relative movement of 10-15mm
between the head and the helmet in any direction. Research and development has been going on for over 25 years and has taken place together with KI and KTH. Countless tests have been carried out to ensure and further develop the innovation. As recently as October 2019, the Polhelm Prize was awarded to the researchers who helped develop the MIPS security solution.
