“Utilizing our protective helmet cover (ProTech) with proprietary soft shell technology, DYH’s mission is to reduce head trauma for all contact sports, military and industrial applications. DYH would like all players to play safe, play right, play on.”
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Since 1986, when Defend Your Head acquired Protective Sports Entertainment Inc., a large investment in research and development was taken to devote DYH to the company’s mission statement above. With data collected from the National Electronics Injury Surveillance System- All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), DYH shined a spotlight on the major concerns regarding head trauma. The statistics are beyond mind blowing.
- Emergency room visits for Traumatic Brain Injuries increased 62% from 2001-2009
- Of these visits 71% were males between 10-19 years old, with football and bicycling being the two most sports-related visits
- A staggering 50% of high school football players suffer a concussion every season
An even scarier thought is the fact that this report was solely generated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and only includes any documents from ER visits, not individuals seeking care elsewhere.
Saying there is a problem is an understatement. Therefore, ProTech’s leadership committee including former NFL NY Jet and CEO John Roman, ex-Princeton linebacker Glenn Tilley, former Philadelphia Eagles President, Joe Banner and Ben Franklin Technology Partners, to name a few, are on the forefront of the protection against head traumas steaming from aggressive contact.
What ignited the ProTech design was the concept of energy absorption and dissipation, and the idea that, “when a soft object collides with a hard surface, a good portion of the energy generated is immediately diffused by the energy-absorbing characteristics of the soft object,” says DYH. With that being said, Dr. Richard Nelson, founder of Pennsylvania State University’s Biomechanics Laboratory, supported elite GE designer, Bert Straus’s soft-outer shell helmet made of polyurethane foam, capable of absorbing and dispersing energy transmitted by an impact. Similar to an airbag, the technology is destined to reduce speed, friction and pounding that can be endured by the skull in sports like football.
Defend Your Head’s ProTech Helmet is already on the shopping list for 120 NCAA Division I Universities and a handful of high schools for 2016. “The ProTech is a truly unique product created from the very best in outer shell technology. Its high effectiveness has been proven through years of scientific testing and players attesting to its ease of use. I am deeply honored to serve on this new playing field beside such talented teammates. I know we will make a difference in this game we all love,” says Roman.
With Roman and the strength of his leadership team, contact sports just got a little safer from youth leagues to the Superbowl. It will be interesting to see the stats above change in years to come with an aggressive implementation of this type of protective technology.