U.S. Army soldiers can look forward to a new garment protection that will help lessen damage to their groin area in case of an explosion nearby. What’s more, the U.S. Army has patented the design which probably will be licensed to those interested in mass producing the design for the military or as commercial-off-the-shelf-solution (COTS).

Designed by a team from the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center, the blast pelvic protector is aimed to avoid multiple surgeries to remove the debris in the groin area of the soldier caused by a blast such as by an IED according to the news post at the U.S. Army website.

The wound is said to be painful as well as health and hygiene issues, especially infections:

"The protection that existed before was letting debris in because it wasn't fitted close enough to the body," said Cara Tuttle, an NSRDEC clothing designer and design lead, in the U.S. Army website report. "Soldiers weren't wearing it often enough, and it didn't come down inside of the leg to protect the femoral artery."

There were various designs proposed but they decided to settle harness design using multiple layers of Kevlar that overlap:

"A layer overlaps in one direction, then the next layer overlaps in the opposite direction, and it keeps alternating," Tuttle said. "This creates a better barrier for small [debris fragments], which would have to zig zag through all these layers to get through."

While initially designed for use by the warfighter, eventually they are looking into having these used by other professions such as first responders who can also be exposed to risks that soldiers face. As for the soldiers, they now have something to protect them in that sensitive area when they go on patrols or missions.