As a pediatric neurosurgeon at the Seattle Children’s Hospital, Sam Browd brought a swift end to the early athletic careers of innumerable youths across a myriad of sports due to concussions. Browd’s experience prematurely “retiring†children from athletics—most notably football—and the countless emotional conversations with parents made him question what could be done to address head injuries suffered by children while playing sports.
In 2013, Browd, an associate professor of neurological surgery at the University of Washington, connected with Dave Marver and Per Reinhall—both of whom also had ties to the Seattle-based university and backgrounds in medical technology and mechanical engineering, respectively–about the systemic problem of concussions among athletes. Within a matter of weeks, Browd, Marver and Reinhall founded VICIS. Latin for “change,†the name VICIS fit the trio’s ambition: to reimagine the football helmet and reduce concussions in the sport.
After two years of development and just shy of $10 million in funding, VICIS launched its Zero1 helmet last month in collaboration with the University of Washington. Whether the helmet will effectively address the concussion quandary remains to be seen, but for VICIS’ credit—the helmet is unlike any other on the market.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
