A Northern Irish entrepreneur is at the forefront of protective tech set to revolutionise sports across the world.
Judith McMinn, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, designed Halos®, the ground-breaking sports headband which protects the brain from concussive and sub-concussive impacts. It is the first and only CE marked sports protective wearable of its type in the UK and Europe having secured Category II PPE certification.
Judith, 41, who was schooled at Royal School Dungannon, played hockey as a teenager, and has asked repeatedly since that time ‘why do we protect our shins and our teeth but not our brain?’ With no answer to this query in more than two decades, Judith decided to fill the gap herself, and during lockdown began designing Halos®, seeking input from world-leading experts in fields including cognitive impairment disorders, brain injury and next-generation wearables during the design and testing phase of the product.
She commented: “To me there was an obvious gap, but no one was providing a solution. I sought out experts in the relevant fields so that I understood what was causing degenerative brain disorders in players of contact sports. I also researched the technology available in protective wear. The resulting headband, Halos®, has been tested using recognised, international standard methods of independent, rigorous, and as far as possible, reality-based laboratory testing.
“I’ve heard sports players talk about feeling their brain move inside their head. That is what happens when there are rotational forces* to the head, caused by angled impacts, both during matches and in training. The brain is not designed for angled impacts, so there is inevitably damage as the brain rotates by up to 5mm inside the skull. It’s vitally important to reduce the rotational forces, to protect the brain and prevent the damage that builds over time, often without the player having any idea that they have suffered.”
Halos®, made by Rezon, is the first and only legally approved sports protective wearable of its type in the UK and Europe. It was subject to independent testing at US test house Virginia Tech** receiving a 5 star rating. It was also tested at Sheffield Hallam for extreme head to ground testing. It is a British-made product, and available in sizes suitable for all ages of player, from the youngest to adult players. It is a circular product, and every element of the product and its packaging can be recycled at the end of life.
Judith added: “It’s key that players, clubs, coaches, parents and those with a duty of care understand the risk of brain injury in sports, and that they appreciate what makes effective brain protection. Rezon Halos® provides essential protection for all players.
“The brain is the most important organ in the body, defining performance on the pitch and in life. I want every player, the youngest, those who play for fun and professionals, to have the chance to protect their brain.”
Editor’s Notes:
Halos® was launched in November 2021. For more information about Halos® see https://www.rezonwear.com/
For more information on Rezon and Halos visit the website https://www.rezonwear.com/ and find Rezon on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rezonwear and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rezonwear/ .
*Halos® is intentionally designed to lessen the risk of brain injury due to it reducing the transmission of rotational forces to the brain in concussive and sub-concussive impacts. British designed Rotection® technology inside Halos® is made up of nine unique protective layers that allow for the movement and opposing movement of the layers to reduce the transmission of rotational forces by up to 61%.
Rotational forces cause the brain to rotate inside the skull, brain cells to shear, tiny blood vessels in the brain to be torn and the protective ‘blood brain’ barrier to be disrupted. This results in an abnormal and harmful uncontrolled inflammation which damages the brain and increases the risk of longer-term neurodegenerative consequences, including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to dementia and related physical and cognitive symptoms such as memory problems, a decline in thinking ability, confusion, aggression, depression and changes in personality.
**Virginia Tech provide ratings that allow consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing protective headgear on products that reduce concussion risk. The ratings and test results are based on more than ten years of research on head impacts in sports and are independent of any influence from manufacturers.
Find out more about Rezon Ltd on their member profile page here
Member-created content 1 year ago | From members