@article{ref1,
title="Ergonomic assessment of enhanced protection under body armour combat shirt neck collars",
journal="Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps",
year="2014",
author="Breeze, John and Granger, C. J. and Pearkes, T. D. and Clasper, Jonathan C.",
volume="160",
number="1",
pages="32-37",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: Combat neck injury due to explosively propelled fragments is a significant cause of mortality and long-term morbidity in UK soldiers deployed on current operations. Reinforcing the collar of the existing under body armour combat shirt (UBACS) has been suggested as a potential method for reducing the incidence of combat neck injury. METHOD: 20 soldiers serving in Afghanistan objectively compared three designs of enhanced protection UBACS (EP-UBACS) using 10 representative military tasks against a baseline of a standard UBACS. Each EP-UBACS design was trialled using three constituent materials: two layers of para-aramid felt, one layer of ultra high molecule weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) felt or two layers of a silk fabric. Subjective assessment of these nine configurations in terms of comfort, heat dissipation and overall acceptability were compared with the standard UBACS using a χ(2) test. RESULTS: All military tasks could be performed with all nine configurations of EP-UBACS. Although silk was the most comfortable material, it was not functionally practical in any of the three designs. Crossover collars incorporating UHMWPE or para-aramid were the only two of the nine configurations to demonstrate similar user acceptability to a standard UBACS. CONCLUSIONS: The EP-UBACS has the potential to provide neck protection without reducing performance incorporating materials analogous to either of the felts assessed in this study. The collar should provide stand-off from the skin to improve heat dissipation and comfort, which can be maximised by changing the current UBACS collar shape to one that crosses over at the front. Should a zip be desired, it should be moved to one side of the midline to reduce rubbing on the chin and be covered with ballistic protective material. Additional semi-circles of silk beneath the collar at the front and back would improve protection without affecting comfort.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0035-8665",
doi="10.1136/jramc-2013-000102",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jramc-2013-000102"
}