• Dan Gryth, David Rocksén, Jonas K E Persson, Ulf P Arborelius, Dan Drobin, Jenny Bursell, Lars-Gunnar Olsson, and Thomas B Kjellström.
• Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Section of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Karolinska Institute, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.
• Mil Med. 2007 Oct 1;172(10):1110-6.

AbstractThe most-used safety recommendation for protective vests is that the impact should not cause more than a 44-mm impression in plasticine. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this criterion was sufficient if the vest was exposed to a high-velocity projectile. We tested the hypothesis with pigs divided into a 40-mm group (n = 10) and a 34-mm group (n = 8) protected by a vest allowing a 40-mm or 34-mm impression in plasticine, respectively. Five (50%) of 10 animals in the 40-mm group and 2 (25%) of 8 in the 34-mm group died due to the trauma. We observed severe lung hematoma, impaired circulation, desaturation, and electroencephalogram changes. These effects were more aggravated in the 40-mm group compared to the 34-mm group. Based on our results, the overall judgment is that the safety criterion of 44-mm impression is insufficient when a vest is exposed to a high-velocity projectile.

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