I-Corps: Translation potential of a helmet designed to offer protection for individuals engaging in head-directed self-injurious behaviors

Award ID: 2627259

This I-Corps project is based on the development of a helmet for individuals who engage in head-directed, self-injurious behaviors, such as those with differing abilities or impairments. Currently, existing protective helmets are often ineffective and untested. Severe cases of head-directed self-injury can lead to traumatic brain injury, long-term disability, or death, underscoring the urgent need for protective technology. This technology offers a safe, smart helmet design that incorporates impact testing and sensor-based monitoring to support injury prevention and inform caregiver decision making. Beyond its primary user community, the technology also may benefit youth sports, recreational activities with elevated head injury risk, older adults, and industrial sectors such as mining and construction where insights into accident precursors and impact forces can strengthen workplace safety. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with a first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of advances in helmet design by integrating impact, light, and heart rate sensors into a prototype engineered to measure both the force and location of head impacts. It is also designed to detect subtle changes in a users environment or physiological state that may precede self injurious behavior. Current helmet products lack impact testing data, provide no information relevant to treatment planning, and typically do not meet safety standards comparable to those for bicycle helmets. This technology directly addresses these limitations by producing quantifiable safety performance data and enabling analysis of behavioral precursors through embedded biosensing. These innovations support the translation of the technology toward real world use by caregivers, clinicians, and safety professionals seeking more effective, data driven head injury prevention tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman