Energy transmission from bullet impact onto head or neck through structures of the protective ballistic helmet - tests and evaluation

It appears from studies of the topography of vital human organs and from evaluation of gunshot wounds in various anatomical areas that head protection is a very important issue [1-9]. The data, acquired during military conflicts in Dagestan and Chechnya (from 1999 through 2001), included a total number of 6053 wounded and 2037 killed subjects, while the ratio of killed to wounded was 1:3. Regarding the affected parts of the body, the injuries experienced by involved soldiers concerned the head – 21%, the chest -10%, the abdomen – 10.8% or the limbs – 57.5%. Considering the character of wounds, one should notice that 45% of them accounted for shots with bullets and resulted in death of 56.6% of victims, while the prevalence of wounds from splinters was 55%, being death cause in case of 43.4% of affected subjects. Regarding wound localisation, bullet wounds involved: the head 50%, the chest 40%, and the abdomen 10%. The prevalence of fatal hits in the head was comparable with the number of fatal shots into chest and abdomen together, what – keeping in mind that the head stands for 8% of whole body surface indicates how important is protection of this body part.