Medical evaluation of pelvic anatomy coverage provided by the UK armed forces pelvic protection system

Pelvic and perineal injury from buried improvised explosive devices were responsible for substantial mortality and long-term morbidity of UK armed forces personnel in recent conflicts. The pelvic protection (PP) system is provided as three separate garments (Tiers 1, 2 and 3), with each offering successively increased coverage and level of ballistic protection to potentially mitigate such injuries.

Each tier of PP was imported into the Coverage of Armour Tool and superimposed over the female and male anatomical structures in the pelvis deemed as essential or desirable coverage. This enabled both visualisation and objective determination of the coverage provided by PP from a range of orientations.

Tier 1 PP covers 75% and 76% of the essential anatomical structures, for the female and male geometries, respectively, against narrow azimuths (representing ground-based threats). Tier 2 PP provides less coverage than Tier 1 PP (58% and 55%, respectively). The coverage increases to 88% and 89% when Tier 3 PP is worn in conjunction with the Tier 2 PP. A coverage gap between the bottom of the VIRTUS scalable tactical vest and the top of PP was identified.

This is the first review of the PP coverage since its initial development and fielding in 2010. This review has determined the extent of coverage provided by the current PP and has identified the anatomical structures that are not covered by the PP design. While the PP system has been shown to be effective, its suitability for current and future combat operations is required. Practical recommendations are provided to optimise the coverage of the current and future PP.