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What is the medical requirement for a quick release system in a body armour vest?
  1. John Breeze1,2,
  2. D Bowley3,
  3. J Russell4 and
  4. H EJ Pugh5
  1. 1Academic Department of Military Surgery and Trauma, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Birmingham, UK
  2. 2Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
  3. 3Medical Branch, Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, Imjin Barracks, Gloucester, GL3 1HW, UK
  4. 4Platform Systems Division, DSTL, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK
  5. 5Department of Anaesthetics, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter, UK
  1. Correspondence to LtCol John Breeze; editor.bmjmilitary{at}bmj.com

Abstract

A quick release system is a method by which personal armour can be rapidly doffed by the disconnection of structural components using little force. There are slight variations in the design of quick release systems available in different personal armour systems worldwide, including the position of the activation device, how many points on the vest are released at one time and how many constituent parts the vest dismantles into. Limited evidence exists, however, to justify each of these differences. We believe the medical requirements for a quickrelease system include reducing mass and bulk for rapid escape in confined areas or when transporting casualties, optimising rapid medical assessment and fully enabling medical assessment and treatment. The aim of this paper is to provide multidisciplinary evidence to support the medical requirements for this component and thereby facilitate innovation and the optimisation of future body armour design.

  • TRAUMA MANAGEMENT
  • PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
  • Thoracic surgery

https://doi.org/10.1136/military-2023-002661

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors JB: conceptualisation, data collection, data analysis, project administration and writing. HP: conceptualisation and writing. DB and JR: writing.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.