Project Impact
Minimising injury to athletes by designing a genital protector strong enough to withstand the impact of a high-speed projectile.
Team members:
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Wenjing Sun (Bachelor of Engineering (Materials) and Biomedical Science
Clinician:
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Ghadir Omran (Monash Partners)
Funding:
Healthcare Innovation Summer Scholarships (HISS) Phase 2 funding, Monash Institute of Medical Engineering
Project History
Project Impact originated from the HISS 2021/2022 program.
This project is in the preliminary research stage.
Progress has been made...
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Survey collecting data from athletes on the usage of genital protectors and awareness of its importance
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Researched into polymers and possible types of polymer material substitutes
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Started preliminary testing of materials via simulations
Achievements so far...
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41 responses on survey validating the need to improve current genital protectors
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Simulations validate that current protectors will not be able to withstand high speed projectile impacts
Goals
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Find the speeds at which genital protectors can withstand
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Finalise list of materials that can be used for the genital protector
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Finalise recommended genital protector shapes for the best stress distribution + comfort
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Finalise list of materials currently used/background information
Plans
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Perform simulation testing of high velocity cricket balls on different materials and noting ones that have a high chance of sustaining the impact
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Perform simulation testing of high velocity cricket balls on different shapes of materials that can sustain the high velocity impact
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Validate simulations with physical testing
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Observing data from simulations testing, specifically energy absorbed by the material and the remaining energy that will impact the wearer