Corsair Innovations, a company created to realise University of Massachusetts Dartmouth technology breakthroughs, has become one of five recipients of a US$ 250,000 funding award from the third Head Health Challenge.

Phase III of the Challenge is a partnership of the NFL, Under Armour, GE and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and was an open innovation competition designed to support the discovery, design and development of advanced materials that better absorb or dissipate impact.

Corsair Innovations will use these funds to further refine its FEAM technology, an innovative alternative to foam padding used in helmets and body armour. According to the company, FEAM can absorb blunt force energies and reduce risk of trauma by mitigating impact energies.

Textile replacement for foams

“We are honoured that the experts on the judging committee selected our material and see the promise of FEAM,” said Bill Lyndon, President of Corsair Innovations.

“Traumatic brain injury is a serious and growing problem for athletes, young people, and soldiers affecting over 2.6 million people in the US annually. The unique properties and flexibility of FEAM enable us to develop solutions for the linear and more damaging rotational forces associated with these injuries.”

FEAM is a 100% textile replacement for foams, the company reports. This novel material uses a mature manufacturing process called flocking, in a new way. The resulting material is said to offer higher performance, be breathable and washable, and it can be used in various applications, including sports, military and police protection equipment and athletic uniforms.

Head Health Challenge

The Head Health Challenge is a four-year, US$ 60,000,000 collaboration between GE and the NFL. The three-phased initiative was created to invest up to US$ 20 million in research and technology development to better understand, identify and protect against brain injury.

The Head Health Challenge III collaboration helps fulfil a pledge by NIST and Department of Commerce to invest resources to accelerate development of materials that can protect against concussions, a commitment made at the White House's Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit in May 2014.

Exploiting opportunities

Corsair Innovations was created by researchers at UMass Dartmouth. It works on cutting-edge materials technologies, mainly in advanced textiles and composites engineering.

Phillip C. Thomas, President of Boston Business Group, is a primary advisor to Corsair Innovations. "Phil's long record success will enable Corsair effectively exploit the huge opportunities inspired by FEAM and other novel Corsair technology," said Bill Lyndon, Corsair's Founder.

This Head Health Challenge award will enable researchers at Corsair, UMass Dartmouth, and Sander Reynolds Consulting, LLC to further test and improve the FEAM material with the ultimate goal of producing a better impact attenuation system for helmets and other protective gear.

www.corsairinnovations.com