Nape protectors, that cover zone III of the neck posteriorly, would only have potentially prevented 3% of injuries and therefore this study does not support their use. Current UK OSPREY neck collars potentially protect against the majority of explosive fragments to zones I and II and had these collars been worn potentially 16 deaths may have been prevented. Reasons for their lack of uptake by UK servicemen is therefore being evaluated. Surface wound mapping of penetrating explosive fragments in our series has been used to validate the area of coverage required for future designs of neck protection.
Computerised SWM has objectively demonstrated the ability of body armour worn on current operations in Afghanistan to reduce wound incidence and severity. We recognise this technique is limited in that it only records the surface wound location and may be specific to this conflict. However, gathering electronic SWM at the same time as recording injuries for the JTTR was simple, required little extra time and therefore we would recommend its collection during future conflicts.
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