Behind helmet blunt trauma (BHBT) studied with X-ray cinematography

2 Sep 2021 | Multi anode tubes, X-ray cinematography

Brain injuries can occur even with a bullet-proof helmet

A study of 6,000 cases reveals that, even if 70% of injured patients were wearing bullet-proof helmets and other individual protective equipment, 50% was found to have suffered brain injuries.

When a helmet is deformed, the shock waves can be transmitted to the brain which can cause serious damage and lead to brain injuries. A study of 6000 cases concluded that, even if 70% of injured patients were wearing bullet-proof helmets and other individual protective equipment, 50% was found to have suffered brain injuries (Rafaels, Journal of Forensic Sciences, 60(1)(2015)219).

Norbert Faderl and Marvin Becker at the French-German Research Institute of Saint Louis have constructed an instrument described in Proc. of SPIE 10999(2019)10990L-1, containing a Scandiflash MAT300  system that can be used to study BHBT.

770 m/s impact

The image below shows a helmet having been hit by a bullet traveling at 770 m/s. Dynamic event images captured by high-speed flash X-ray cinematography can give details of the impact process which is valuable information toward understanding BHBT.

Flash X-ray cinematography

The series of X-ray images below shows the helmet during impact. The images are recorded with a 20 microsecond time interval between each image.

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Mahoney, P., Carr, D., Harrison, K. et al. Forensic reconstruction of two military combat related shooting incidents using an anatomically correct synthetic skull with a surrogate skin/soft tissue layer. Int J Legal Med 133, 151–162 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1802-z

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About Scandiflash

For over 50 years, Scandiflash has been pioneering flash X-ray technology to help scientists and researchers around the globe to see the nearly impossible. Scandiflash Flash X-Ray Systems generate extremely short pulses used to capture dynamics in the harshest of conditions, ranging from indoor lab setups to outdoor large-scale firing ranges. The systems are modular and can be tailored to meet your requirements for number of pulses and peak energy conditions.