Our focus is to be neck protection experts. That’s why we’ve dedicated countless hours over the last six years to objective and subjective testing to research the efficacy of the Kapsul collar.
We have one purpose — to help athletes live what they love for longer. To do this, we know that we need to focus on research and testing to ensure we’re creating the right solutions.
Our path to expertise
Our team set out to better understand the neck and its role in the mechanism of injury with relation to the head. These injuries include mTBI, whiplash, neck fatigue-related injuries, posture, repetitive exposure, and more.
We partnered with the University of Waterloo to effectively test our product utilizing their Finite Element Method (FEM) Lab. FEM testing allows us to take a digitized and characterized version of our collar and apply it to the same models used by car manufacturers for car safety testing, the Global Human Body Models Consortium. With this testing, we can prove the efficacy of the collar with multiple types of head kinematics.
After this testing, we took the collar to the field and conducted studies with the Western University Football team. Helmet sensors allowed us to see how the collar mitigated linear and rotational forces in the necks of football players. The findings from this on-field testing, the FEM testing, and advancements in material science contributed to creating our Dynamic Neck Stabilization Technology that powers the Kapsul collar.
We have completed over 2,500 subjective studies of the collar with athletes and military personnel. The collar has been put through rigorous testing in extreme environments to ensure it works in all conditions.
Research
Through our research, we have learned that stabilizing and supporting the neck helps reduce the risk of neck-related head injuries. It also helps reduce neck fatigue, can aid in increasing performance, and help reduce the risk of neck fatigue-related injuries.
Testing
We engaged athletes worldwide and in all types of sports to ensure the collar met their unique needs. We also set out to test with some of the most elite athletes in extreme conditions with the highest expectations — military members.
We take a lot of pride in our military testing. Military athletes such as snipers, parachutists, and Canadian Coast Guard members don’t take risks when choosing personal protection equipment. Their direct feedback has been a valuable part of our innovation process.
Innovation
While designing and creating the Kapsul collar, our objective and subjective feedback made it clear that we had to focus on creating a collar that utilized the softest and most flexible foam available.
No matter the benefits of the collar, we know that for our athletes to wear it, it would have to be comfortable, unobtrusive, and allow for a full range of motion.
“We had 100% unanimous consensus during military trials that the Kapsul collar reduced fatigue and did NOT interfere with tactical movements or body armor.”
Standards
Kapsul is in an exciting position regarding standards within sport. That’s why research and testing are even more important to us. Standards for neck movement and the mitigation of acceleration/deceleration forces are in their infancy. Kapsul and our partners have the opportunity to start defining these standards through joint testing, research, and product development.
Our research and innovation have led us to develop Dynamic Neck Stabilization technology, and we’re only getting started. We’re dedicated to continuing this research, testing, and innovation cycle and being recognized as neck protection experts.
