We launched the Head Health Initiative in partnership with GE in 2013 to advance the discovery and development of technologies and materials to prevent, diagnose, and protect against brain injuries. We have seen tremendous progress to date. One aspect of the Initiative has been three innovation challenges designed to advance concussion diagnosis and prevention. We have received more than 1,000 submissions from more than 30 countries in these three challenges.
Thursday, December 3, we will announce the final winners of Head Health Challenge II, which requested novel ideas to prevent against concussion, at a showroom event here at our office. The winning technologies will be on display in the Multipurpose Room on Concourse Level C from 10:00am -- 4:00pm. We invite you to come down to meet the winners, interact with their new technologies, and see firsthand demonstrations of how they work.
The final winners and innovations include:
» Army Research Lab -- a rate-dependent tether system that lessens violent head motion;
» Viconic -- a turf underlayer that helps cushion impact and helps make fields significantly safer for athletes; and
» University of Washington -- a new football helmet featuring a novel impact-absorbing structure that reduces the forces believed to cause concussion