Dan Garrett, Elena Dieckmann, Ming Kong and Lucy Jung have joined their creative efforts and come up with Bruise, a special, Star-Treck-esque suit to help doctors quickly find the injury zones of disabled sportsmen. The Bruise suit is worn underneath the protective clothing and it becomes tinted in red around the areas which suffer an impact strong enough to cause injuries which need medical attention.
The invention of the Imperial College of London students is exceedingly important for paraplegic sportsmen as they are unable to feel the pain in certain areas of the body, potentially aggravating their condition. The Bruise suit is thus providing doctors with precise information on the areas which have sustained injury-causing impacts, with the color of the tint darkening as the impact force grows in intensity. From muscle affections to fractures, medical professionals can now pinpoint the zones of interest and act with enhanced accuracy to treat injuries.
Bruise is the result of extended testing and its actual design covers the most critical areas of the body, which are most likely to supper injuries in a variety of sports. The ergonomic seams offer a comfortable wear, without restricting movement, while the mesh inserts ensure excellent breathability. The sweat-wicking stretch material helps maintaining a comfortable feel, while providing a supporting fit, as well.
The technology used to fabricate the Bruise suit involves special made to fit film elements which are inserted in the key areas. Upon crash impact forces, the pressure-sensitive film changes color irreversibly, with the tint intensity varying with the pressure magnitude. The film patches are especially manufactured to provide medical data on fractures. This means that the developers of Bruise have analyzed the pressure loads needed to fracture certain bones in the human body, manufacturing corresponding film inserts for each area, offering more accurate data on sight.
Bruise was developed together with British paralympian skier Talan Skeels-Piggins. Skeelan-Piggins was paralyzed in 2003 after a motorcycle crash, and he is just one of the disabled riders who are back into the sport world. While the Bruise suit obviously has a tremendous potential, we’re still waiting to see which gear manufacturer will be the first one to adopt it.
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