Riddell Revolution

helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without prote ...

are a line of

football helmet The football helmet is a piece of protective equipment used mainly in gridiron football, although a structural variation has occasional use in Australian rules football. It consists of a hard plastic shell with thick padding on the inside, a ...

s. The helmet brand is the most popular model in use in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

, used by 83% of the players in the league as of 2008. The most recent model in the Revolution line is the Speedflex helmet. This model can come equipped with Riddell's HITS Technology, which consists of a sensor in the helmet that relays data regarding the severity of each hit to a computer system. The Speedflex also features a built-in hinged panel located on the front near the top. In head-on collisions, this panel gives by up to a quarter of an inch (6 mm), helping to absorb the impact. The Revolution helmet was conceived in an attempt to reduce the risk of head injuries such as

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentratio ...

s. What research has been done on the helmet's efficacy so far has been inconclusive.

Revolution Speed Helmet

The Speed Helmet is the most recent addition to the Revolution series of helmets made by Riddell. The helmet is designed around the head's center of

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the str ...

, and is intended to reduce the prevalence of concussions. Recent data has brought the issues of football concussions to the public attention. An estimated 5 percent of high school players suffer concussions each year, and there is a widening body of evidence suggesting that long-term football players to a type of brain damage called

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse ov ...

. Since most concussion-causing impacts occur on the side of the head and face, the helmet features

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bon ...

extensions which the cover the wearer's jaw line. The helmet is lined with a custom fit cellular air pad system made of

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...

and

synthetic rubber A synthetic rubber is an artificial elastomer. They are polymers synthesized from petroleum byproducts. About 32-million metric tons of rubbers are produced annually in the United States, and of that amount two thirds are synthetic. Synthetic rubbe ...

foam, and the shell is made of a

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductilit ...

. A lightweight

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

face guard is attached to the helmet.

HITS Technology

The Revolution helmet can be mounted with Head Impact

Telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', "remote", and ' ...

Systems (HITS) technology, a

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

, a

radio transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to th ...

, and a system of six

accelerometers An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accel ...

placed inside the helmet which measure the force, location, and direction of an impact on the helmet. When a player's head accelerates due to a collision, the

acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by ...

is registered and brought up on a computer as a three-dimensional image of the head with the location of contact marked with an arrow. A

bar graph A bar chart or bar graph is a chart or graph that presents categorical data with rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values that they represent. The bars can be plotted vertically or horizontally. A vertical bar chart is ...

is used to indicate the force of the blow. While players and staff may be able to use this information in determining whether a player requires medical attention, there is currently no medically conclusive method of determining which impacts might lead to a concussion.

History

The Revolution was first distributed in 2002. As of 2007, Riddell had sold 750,000 Revolution helmets.

Injury Prevention Research and Controversy

One major study on the helmet's effectiveness (funded by Riddell) was conducted by the

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a $23billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and d ...

. The research compared the Revolution helmet with other models. 2,000 high school players participated in the study which took place over the course of three years. The study's results showed that 5.4% of the athletes wearing the Revolution helmet suffered a

during a game as opposed to 7.6% of the players wearing the older model helmets. High school players wearing the Revolution helmet were 31% less likely to experience a concussion. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center later disavowed these results, citing problems with the design of the study, according to the book '' League of Denial''. The Federal Trade Commission also conducted an independent investigation into the safety claims made by Riddell. It concluded that "the study did not substantiate Riddell’s claim that Revolution varsity football helmets reduce concussions or the risk of concussion by 31% compared to other varsity football helmets." It also invalidated all claims relating to youth football and the Revolution youth helmet due to the fact that the UPMC study tested neither youth players nor the youth version of the helmet. Despite determining that Riddell falsely represented numerous claims, the FTC chose not to sanction Riddell as the company had already discontinued use of the 31% claim.

References

{{Gridiron football equipment American football equipment Canadian football Helmets Protective gear