A Doctor in Britain by the name of Dr. Ken Philips claims to have created a new type of helmet, which in the unfortunate event of an accident, reduces the damaging effect of head rotation which can result in injury to the brain.

Dr. Ken Philips’s son, who is an avid motorcyclist, was the driving force behind Dr. Ken’s desire to create a motorcycle helmet that replicated the natural defense mechanisms of the head. The ability of the skin over the skull to slightly slip over it, normally moderates the sudden rotary motion of the head which typically leads to severe brain injuries, even when the skull is shielded from the impact.

The helmet design of Dr. Ken Philips adds an artificial membrane to the outer surface of a conventional helmet, which replicates the slipping of the skin over the skull.

As a Doctor, Dr. Ken knew about head injuries, but he did not know much about the engineering that goes into a helmet. But, after 15 long years and spending £1m on research, he came up with the Philips Head protection System (PHPS).

The first range of helmets featuring the Philips Head protection System (PHPS) has already hit the market. Lazer helmets have introduced the new Lazer Superskin range of helmets featuring the new PHPS technology starting from a price range of  around £200.

In the tests conducted by the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, the PHPS equipped helmet dissipated the effect of rotation occurring during an impact by 60% when compared with a high-end conventional helmet.

Source – Times Online