Development of a novel test surrogate for evaluating material protection against hockey puck impacts to the neck and clavicle

During ice hockey, pucks travel at high speeds and have the potential to cause substantial injury. The neck and torso are vulnerable locations where protective materials could mitigate impacts and reduce injury. Currently, neck guards are tested solely for cut protection, while no known standards exist for chest protection. To assess products and materials, a novel test surrogate was required with realistic body geometry (for product mounting) and stiffness (reflecting body compliance). The neck and clavicle were instrumented, and hockey puck impacts were applied to each in an unpadded condition, as well as with eight foams and three commercial neck guards in place. Protection of each material was quantified as the reduction in force relative to the unpadded condition. The greatest force reduction with a foam was 42%–46% (neck-clavicle), supporting its potential use in equipment. Only one of the commercial neck guards provided impact resistance (39% force reduction, vs 4%–6% in the others). Without injury tolerance data for the neck, it is unknown if the materials would have prevented injury; none reduced load below the reported fracture tolerance of the clavicle. This test surrogate and investigation may inform the future development of standards for improved hockey equipment design and evaluation.