Left Pectoral Rigid Plate for Commotio Cordis Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing chest protectors fail to adequately protect athletes from commotio cordis, a condition caused by high-force impacts to the chest, even when worn during sports that involve projectiles.
Innovation Solution
An apparel system featuring a rigid plate specifically designed to cover the left pectoral region of the wearer, coupled with impact-resistant materials and pads, providing enhanced protection against high-impact forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional chest protectors are worn, then some basic protection is provided, but they fail to adequately protect against commotio cordis from high-force impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by placing a rigid plate specifically at the left pectoral region where the heart is located, rather than uniformly distributing protection across the entire chest. This targeted approach provides enhanced protection exactly where commotio cordis risk is highest, while avoiding unnecessary complexity and bulk in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining a rigid plate (for structural protection and force distribution) with soft padding material (for comfort and additional impact absorption). This composite structure achieves superior protection effectiveness against high-force impacts while maintaining wearability and reducing overall device complexity compared to using only thick soft padding.
2Area of stationary object
If multiple rigid plates are used to enhance protection, then coverage area increases, but device complexity and bulk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the single rigid plate universal by designing it to cover the left pectoral region comprehensively, serving multiple protective functions simultaneously. The plate is contoured to match the body shape and can be positioned to protect various aspects of the heart area, eliminating the need for multiple separate rigid plates while maintaining adequate protected area.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparel system significantly reduces the risk of commotio cordis by effectively dissipating the force of impacts, as demonstrated by reduced incidence of ventricular fibrillation in experimental tests.
Implementation Method 1
The apparel system significantly reduces the risk of commotio cordis by effectively dissipating the force of impacts
Data Source
AI summary
An apparel system configured to be worn on a torso of a wearer is disclosed. The apparel system includes an apparel having an area configured to cover at least a left pectoral region of the wearer when the apparel is worn. The apparel system includes a rigid plate configured to be coupled to the apparel at a location covering the left pectoral region of the wearer when the apparel is worn. The rigid plate has a contour corresponding to the left pectoral region of the wearer. The apparel system lacks any additional rigid plate other than the rigid plate. A protective element configured to be worn by a wearer is also disclosed. The protective element comprises a rigid plate configured to cover a left pectoral region of the wearer when the protective element is worn. The rigid plate has a contour corresponding to the left pectoral region of the wearer.