Applications of Blast Injury Research: Solving Clinical Problems and Providing Mitigation

Abstract

Body armour typically comprises of a ‘soft’ fabric waistcoat or tabard style garment covering the torso; in military armour this provides protection from fragments, in police armour it provides protection from sharp-weapons and low velocity handgun bullets. The fabrics used are typically manufactured using para-aramid fibres (e.g. Kevlar®, Twaron®), but may contain ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibres (UHMWPE; e.g. Dyneema®, Spectra®). The armour may also contain ‘hard’ plates which are ceramic faced and composite backed (common combinations include alumina/para-aramid and silicon carbide/UHMWPE), or are 100 % composite (usually UHMWPE). These plates provide protection from high velocity rifle bullets. The level of protection the soft- and hard-armour provides varies according to the threat level that has been conducted [1, 2] and is discussed in Chap. 20, Sect. viii-2. Behind armour blunt trauma (BABT) has been defined as “…the non-penetrating injury resulting from the rapid deformation of armours covering the body” [3]. More recently a definition for injuries occurring when body armour is impacted, but not perforated, has been suggested that separates injuries that include skin laceration from those that are restricted to skin contusion and rib damage “Backface injuries are lacerations that occur due to blunt trauma” [4]. There has been an increasing awareness of BABT as an injury mechanism in both the military and civilian worlds e.g. [3, 5–9]. Typical injuries include skin contusion, laceration and penetration; rib fracture; and contusions to lungs, kidneys, spleen and (rarely) the heart e.g. [3, 5–13]. BABT also includes pencilling “… a deformation characteristic of body armour, which is only associated with the evolution of lightweight and flexible armours.” [14] and “…comparable to an entry wound from a ballistic injury.” [15]. A narrow, tapered, deep deformation of the soft body armour into the torso occurs, but the armour is not perforated.