Woodpeckers could hold key to head injury prevention

Woodpeckers could hold the key to making helmets that better protect people from head injuries, a new study has found.

Researchers believe that woodpeckers may have an answer for minimizing devastating head injuries.
They say their analysis of woodpecker anatomy and behaviour revealed some features that could potentially be put to use in designing more effective helmets.
Woodpeckers are able to peck at a tree trunk at high speed, resulting in intense deceleration forces on impact, without sustaining any brain injury.
To investigate the source of the protection, the researchers - led by Yubo Fan of Beihang University in Beijing and Ming Zhang of Hong Kong Polytechnic University - recorded the birds using two synchronous high-speed video cameras.
They also took scans of the birds' heads to reveal details about the micro-structural parameters such as the bone volume, thickness and density.
Woodpeckers could hold key to head injury prevention
Woodpeckers could hold the key to making helmets that better protect people from head injuries, a new study has found.
Researchers believe that woodpeckers may have an answer for minimizing devastating head injuries.
They say their analysis of woodpecker anatomy and behaviour revealed some features that could potentially be put to use in designing more effective helmets.
Woodpeckers are able to peck at a tree trunk at high speed, resulting in intense deceleration forces on impact, without sustaining any brain injury.
To investigate the source of the protection, the researchers - led by Yubo Fan of Beihang University in Beijing and Ming Zhang of Hong Kong Polytechnic University - recorded the birds using two synchronous high-speed video cameras.
They also took scans of the birds' heads to reveal details about the micro-structural parameters such as the bone volume, thickness and density.
They then constructed 3D models that allowed for further testing and measurement of the forces involved.
The results showed that specific details of the cranial bones and beak - such as the relative "spongy"-ness of the bone at different places in the skull and the unequal lengths of the upper and lower parts of the beak - were crucial for preventing impact injury.
The researchers conclude that the shock absorption system is not based on a single factor, but is a result of the combined effect of a number of different morphological features.
Dr Fan said: "This combination may be useful in guiding design for new protective gear."
The findings were published in the latest issue of the online journal PLoS ONE.

Source: The Telegraph