Seattle start-up 'Vicis says its soon-to-be-launched football helmet will keep the brain far safer than anything available today.

Today's helmets were designed to protect against just skull fracture.

And they were not designed to protect against traumatic brain injury.

The more a helmet absorbs of the impact -- the safer it is.

Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Dave Marver says the Vicis helmet is designed to protect against both.

“This is like we're dealing with an egg. Today's helmets protect the egg shell, keep it from cracking. But we also want to protect the egg yoke from sloshing around, like the brain,” said Marver.

There is so much proprietary technology in the helmet, Vicis uses a dazzle camouflage to wrap and hide all the unique features so competitors don't catch on.

Marver joined a renowned doctor on sports concussions at Seattle Children’s -- and a UW engineering professor -- to launch Vicis.

Their motivation: the current focus on football and head injuries.

Marver says the helmet “is designed differently. It's designed with multiple layers. It's designed to protect from both traumatic head injuries and skull fractures. And it functions differently. It has a novel outer shell material. The novel engineered absorbing layer. It feels different. It sounds different."

Vicis will soon move operations from a rented UW lab to its own at South Lake Union.

The plan is for the helmet to go on the market in spring 2016 -- and be on the heads of NFL players next season.

Vicis has already used the Seahawks for consultation.

 

kirotv.com

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