Helicopter Seat-Integrated Power Assist Device

Myriad studies have shown that the flight environment leads to warfighter fatigue, back pain, and long-term chronic injuries. While recent government investment has sought to address vibration, occupant posture and the weight of body-worn equipment remain prime factors in these issues. Since the 1970s, the weight of equipment loaded on an aviator’s torso has increased by 800% - nearly doubling the total mass supported by the occupant’s lower back. Not only does this significantly increase the chances of acute injuries during extreme events, but the added weight combined with a helicopter pilot’s typical posture leads to an inordinate amount of fatigue and long-term chronic injuries from normal flight operations. To this end, InnoVital Systems has begun developing the lightweight and mechanically safe and simple “ActiveSpine” to off-load the occupant’s spine by providing a secondary “backbone” to transmit the gear loading directly to the seat structure. The ActiveSpine showed improved crash safety in a prior Army program and the Navy Phase I effort redesigned the system for a Navy platform and gear. In the proposed Phase II effort, InnoVital will mature the technology and measure its effectiveness in reducing lumbar musculoskeletal loading through human-in-the-loop testing of a refined system.