Updates

The NFL and Football Research, Inc. (FRI) announced the winners of the HeadHealthTECH Challenge III, the latest in the Tech Challenge series, which is operated and managed on behalf of FRI by Duke University's Clinical and Translational Science Institute (Duke CTSI). The TECH Challenge series is designed to stimulate research and innovation in protective equipment including helmets and related technologies, turf systems, shoulder and other pads and additional innovative concepts.

The NFL and FRI also announced that the submission window for TECH Challenge V through June 6, 2018, and that the winners are expected to be announced in June 2018.

"Through grant awards to the winners, and the mentorship and feedback from Duke CTSI to each company that submits, the TECH Challenge series continues to serve as an innovative engine in the advancement of sports safety protective equipment," said Jeff Miller, NFL Executive Vice President of Health and Safety Initiatives. "The winners of TECH Challenge III showcase a range of promising materials designed to absorb and reduce impact, and we are proud to support their development."

"This program offers more than grants — it's an opportunity to work closely with our team at Duke CTSI to help get a new idea or technology off the ground and into the marketplace," said Barry Myers, MD, PhD, MBA, Director of Innovation at Duke CTSI, Coulter Program Director and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University and a consultant to the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). "I am excited by the progress range of proposals we've seen throughout the series, and I encourage all inventors and entrepreneurs to submit their ideas for TECH Challenge V."

TECH Challenge III Winners:

• Impressio, Inc., of Denver, Colorado, in partnership with the University of Colorado, Denver, received a grant of $121,949 to support development and testing of its ultra-dissipative football helmet padding made from liquid-crystal elastomers (LCEs). Impressio uses LCEs to create novel dissipative liner materials for protective equipment designed to overcome the challenges of energy absorption in current helmet foams. Impressio is a materials engineering company dedicated to improving human health and safety through innovative applications of LCE Technology.  

• HRL Laboratories, LLC, of Malibu, California received a grant of $186,043 to support development and testing of its novel impact-attenuating pads for football helmets. HRL's three-dimensional lattice padding aims to offer improved volumetric energy absorption compared to existing vinyl nitrile foam pads.

• AES Research & Design, of Baltimore, Maryland received a grant of up to $20,000 for the testing of its anti-rotational kinematic (ARK) helmet prototype, which is designed to significantly reduce the rotational forces that a football player experiences during contact. The ARK helmet is a collaborative project involving the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute at Johns Hopkins University, National Technical Systems and several material suppliers.

FRI awards the most promising TECH Challenge proposals with a total of up to $1 million a year, including in-kind support. For TECH Challenge III, a panel of expert judges selected by Duke CTSI, in collaboration with FRI, reviewed and provided feedback on all proposals. Every TECH Challenge applicant not selected is invited to reapply, and receives constructive feedback from Duke CTSI experts to help refine their innovations and increase their chances for success on future submissions.