VCOM View Vol 11 No 1

RESEARCH Review

American Football and COVID-19: reducing on-field exposures to respiratory particles D ue to the close proximity of American football players during games and in practice, COVID-19 may pose transmission risks. Virginia Tech, VCOM and NanoSafe, Inc., partnered in a study to determine if combining lower and upper visors on football helmets would reduce on- field transmission risks, without hindering athletic performance. Five different helmet setups were tested: 1) no visor (i.e., no modification), 2) upper visor only, 3) lower visor only, 4) combined lower/upper visors, and 5) a prototype mouthguard. Helmets were tested using a commercial airbrush filled with deionized water to emulate the aerosols of exhaled breath. Players were asked to use the helmets to test comfort and visibility. The setup using both upper and lower visors reduced both outward and inward transmission of particles measuring 0.3 to 25 mm by >99% (by mass), suggesting the visors may help reduce on-field transmission of COVID-19 via respiratory droplets with relatively minimal effects on athletic performance. Participants in this study were Taylor N. Langon, MS, LAT, ATC, research associate and concussion research coordinator in the Department of Sports Medicine at Virginia Tech; W. Cary Hill, PhD, vice president at NanoSafe, Inc.; Mark B. Rogers, DO, CAQSM, FAAFP, FAOASM, chief medical officer at Virginia Tech and associate professor of family medicine and osteopathic medicine at VCOM; Mike Goforth, MS, LAT, ATC, associate athletics director for sports medicine at Virginia Tech; Robert I. MacCuspie, PhD, director of regulatory and testing services at NanoSafe, Inc.; Stefan M. Duma, PhD, director, Institute for Critical

Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) at Virginia Tech; and Matthew S. Hull, PhD, research scientist, Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), at Virginia Tech, and president/founder of NanoSafe, Inc. “Looking at ways to ensure that our student athletes can continue to practice, train and compete throughout a pandemic is certainly a challenge.” said Dr. Rogers. “This demonstrates the great partnership between athletics and Virginia Tech engineering has become. It’s just another opportunity for all of us to partner and help keep people safe,” he added. The paper was published online recently in the Sports Journal . ■

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