Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2014 / August / 21 / International team collaborating on a better helmet for contact sports
Health, Policy & Social Change

International team collaborating on a better helmet for contact sports

August 21, 2014

From left: PhD student Colin Wallace tries on a dirt biking shirt equipped with Armourgel protective covering, while UBC’s Paul van Donkelaar and Imperial College’s Dan Plant look on. Van Donkelaar, director of UBC’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences, studies concussions and is interested in Armourgel’s unique properties for use in sports helmets.

From left: PhD student Colin Wallace tries on a dirt biking shirt equipped with Armourgel protective covering, while UBC’s Paul van Donkelaar and Imperial College’s Dan Plant look on. Van Donkelaar, director of UBC’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences, studies concussions and is interested in Armourgel’s unique properties for use in sports helmets.

Imperial College London researchers visit partners at UBC Okanagan

A partnership between UBC Okanagan and  Imperial College London (UK) is focused on development of a new helmet that could one day reduce sports-related concussions.

Professors Peter Childs and Dan Plant, visiting from Imperial College, spent the week at UBC’s Okanagan campus, meeting with researchers and sharing ideas and designs that can change lives.

Plant is one of the developers of Armourgel—a light, flexible material that absorbs shock on impact and can reduce physical harm from falls or other kinds of contact. While at UBC, Plant met with Prof. Paul van Donkelaar, director of UBC’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences, and demonstrated several samples of Armourgel. The applications of this novel new material are far-reaching — from protective bike gear, to clothing for elderly people prone to falls, to more effective helmets.

That’s where UBC Okanagan’s new Survive and Thrive Applied Research (STAR) facility comes in.

STAR (star.ubc.ca) is a hub for innovative research projects that focus on human performance and protection by bringing together expertise from across UBC, industry and other universities. In one of the first major collaborations through STAR, van Donkelaar is working with Armourgel and Kelowna’s Helios Global Technologies to develop a helmet liner that could lessen the impact of blows to the head, specifically in contact sports. His research examines the damage sustained by young athletes who have been concussed while playing sports, especially those who have had more than one concussion.

Part of this work examines how concussions can affect blood flow to the brain, how this impacts neurocognitive function, and how to determine when young athletes are physically ready to begin playing a contact sport again.

“Sport-related concussion is becoming a major concern for athletes, parents, coaches, and sport associations,” says van Donkelaar. “Finding ways to improve the safety of contact sports is one key approach to mitigating the risks of concussion. The development of Armourgel helmets could be a step in the right direction to making contact sports safer.”

In van Donkelaar’s lab, Plant presented several variations of the Armourgel product, and explained how it can be manufactured in different thicknesses, and can be applied in many ways. The goal now is to work on a prototype helmet liner that may one day become standard safety equipment for those who play contact sports.

During their visit, Peter Childs, Professor of Engineering Design at Imperial College London, spoke about the benefits of a partnership between UBC and Imperial. The goal is to expand the relationship and provide new opportunities for students from both universities.

This spring, UBC Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Okanagan Campus Principal Deborah Buszard signed an agreement with Imperial College as part of UBC’s plan to foster deeper relationships that can lead to innovative research

“The visit by Imperial College London opens the door to exciting new opportunities for this campus and our partners in the community,” says Buszard. “It is wonderful to be hosting scholars of the calibre of Peter Childs and Dan Plant. I look forward to seeing the results of the joint projects already underway with UBC researchers, as well as other opportunities for collaboration discussed during this week’s visit.”

While in the Okanagan, the visitors from Imperial met with representatives from local businesses and industries, community leaders, and representatives from several faculties at UBC including the Faculty of Management, Applied Science, and the Faculty of Health and Social Development.

— 30 —

Media Contact

Bud Mortenson
Director
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-9255
E-mail: bud.mortenson@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Faculty of Health and Social Development, School of Health and Exercise Sciences

Trending Stories

  • Work Study opens new doors for undergraduates
  • Finding new life for plastic waste
  • Strengthening Indigenous community through research
  • Safeguarding water quality
  • Pushing the boundaries of spinal cord research
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility