Shock absorbing frame mitigates mine blast injury for military personnel

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Researchers have developed a new military vehicle shock absorbing device that could protect troops from traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a land mine blast.

The elastic frame design from the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine (UMSOM) and A. James Clark School of Engineering is claimed to reduce blast acceleration by up to 80 per cent and could be adapted for vehicle bumpers and other shock absorbing devices.

Over the past 18 years of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, over 250,000 troops have suffered such injuries.

Prior to this study, most research in this area focused on the effects of rapid changes in barometric pressure.

“This is the only research so far to model the effects of under-vehicle blasts on the occupants,” said Dr Gary Fiskum, Matjasko Professor for Research and Vice-Chair, Department of Anesthesiology at UMSOM. “We have produced new insights into the causes of TBI experienced by vehicle occupants, even in the absence of significant pressure changes.”

The research has led to the development of materials and vehicle frame design that greatly reduce injury caused by under-vehicle explosions.

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