Medicine & Science

How Does The HANS Device Work?

The HANS device functions by coupling motions of the head and neck to the torso. This occurs through transfer of the loads that would have been applied to the head and neck areas during a sudden deceleration to the torso. This occurs by the loads being taken up by the helmet tethers and transmitted to the yoke which is secured to the torso by the shoulder belts. These G-forces are then distributed over a broad area including the shoulders and the chest.

The loads are dispersed in such a way that it doesn't pose a significant risk of injury to either the shoulders or the chest areas while at the same time significantly reducing the loads stressed on the neck. The reduction of loads on the neck markedly lessens the risk of a severe head and neck injury. Shown below is a diagram of how the HANS device lessens the forces applied during a frontal deceleration (impact).

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