Thermahelm Is an Air Bag for Your Brain

You crash in a car and an air bag inflates to cushion the blow, but what happens if you crash on a motorcycle? That's the problem that the Thermahelm, a brain-cooling motorcycle helmet, tries to solve. It's a potentially life-saving technology--80% of all motorcycle fatalities involve head injuries.

The carbon-fiber helmet, designed by British motorcycle enthusiast Jullian Preston-Powers, contains two chemical packs in its lining. One pack contains ammonium nitrate and the other contains water. When a crash occurs, the packs mix together and create a cooling reaction that stabilizes brain temperature and eases swelling for up to 45 minutes--that leaves plenty of time for emergency services to arrive. Essentially, the helmet acts like an ice pack for the brain.

Preston-Powers expects the $430 helmet to go on sale this May, with a swanky version featuring GPS, bluetooth, and video cameras expected to hit store shelves in July. Want to see the Thermahelm in all its brain-saving glory? Check out the video below.

[Via UK Daily Mail]