I’ve been reading about the conflicting evidence which exists about whether bicycle helmets increase road safety. It seems that there is serious doubt about something I’d assumed true.
One major cause of injuries is that, on impact, a rider’s head rapidly rotates, resulting in brain and spinal damage by twisting.
Today’s invention is a bicycle helmet design which consists of a padded inner and a hard outer shell with many, marble-sized perforations. The outer shell is made to have as small a diameter as possible.
Each perforation accommodates a tough plastic sphere, in such a way that it is retained within the hole, but able to spin in any direction.
When a rider comes off and hits his or her head, the spheres absorb some of the energy but also rotate within their recesses so that the head itself is not wrenched around by the impact.
