Ex-Crimson QB Invents New Helmet

Vin R. Ferrara ’95-’96 left Harvard with a reputation as the third most prolific passer in the football team’s history. A little more than ten years later, the former quarterback has developed a product that could impact Crimson football again.

Over the last four years, Ferrara and his Boston-based start-up company, Xenith LLC, have designed a new and safer football helmet, which is receiving accolades from physicians around the nation.

“It’s thrilling to see a whole new technology,” said Robert C. Cantu, the chief of neurosurgery service and director of sports medicine at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass. “The helmet tests out far better than existing models.”

Cantu, one of Ferrara’s advisors and a leading expert on concussions in sports, said that Ferrara’s model is the most dramatic advance in helmet technology in 30 years.

National Football League (NFL) and National Collegiate Athletic Association players are targets for the new helmet, Ferrara said. He and his team have already spoken with NFL representatives, though no specific plans have been discussed.

Xenith has also contacted a limited number of college teams around the country. One of these teams is Harvard.

Although the project is not finalized, Ferrara has discussed the Crimson’s timetable for the use of the new technology with Harvard’s head football coach, Tim Murphy, who coached Ferrara for two seasons.

“The goal is next season or spring football,” Murphy said.

The helmet, called the X1 Football Helmet, has received certification from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment. Xenith is nearing completion of its large model for the helmet, which fits about two-thirds to three-fourths of college athletes.

“We want to be sure of every detail,” Ferrara said. “We want to get it on the field this fall.”

Ferrara’s project has significant Harvard ties in addition to his own. One of his advisors, Arthur L. Boland, is the Head Orthopedic Surgeon for the Crimson’s medical room, and William J. Cleary, Jr. ’56, a member of Xenith’s Board of Directors, served as Harvard’s athletic director from 1990-2001.

If Harvard does adopt the new helmet, the implementation will be a type of medical test.

“I’m not interested in making money off the Harvard football team,” Ferrara said. “We’re taking a medical device approach.”

Unlike traditional foam-lined helmets, Xenith’s helmet is lined with 18 “Aware-Flow” shock absorbers, which release air upon impact and compress more completely than foam, minimizing impact force. Laboratory tests also reveal that the disks are sturdy and show few signs of wear after impact, according to the company’s Web site.

As a football player, Ferrara had an impressive record. Despite a serious ACL tear in his junior year, the quarterback threw for over 3,000 yards and was third on the all-time passing yards list when he graduated.

“He was dependable, smart, and a very savvy quarterback,” Murphy said.

Like many quarterbacks, Ferrara had his share of minor concussions—what he calls “dings and bell-ringers.” The new helmet may help to minimize, though not entirely prevent, concussions of this nature.

Xenith hopes to eventually develop helmets for hockey, lacrosse, and cycling, in addition to football.

“This is not just about football,” Ferrara said. “It goes to the heart of every sport.”

The technology may not even be confined to athletics. According to Cantu, the advances could be used for crash-test helmets and the military.