Subdermal Armor
I've recently been giving this a little thought, as body armor has been a weird sort of hobby of mine for about a decade now. I was thinking, it may not be very difficult to make and implant some body armor, of a ballistic or non-ballistic variety. My hypothetical process is laid out below, and I want to see what people think of possible complications and general feasibility. I'm fairly knowledgeable regarding the armor, and am looking for input regarding the implantation (and am happy to answer any questions regarding the armor portion of this thought exercise). I have no rational reason to do such an implant (I live a boring life out of any sort of harm's way and I plan to keep it that way), I'm just considering it because I think I CAN, I refer to this as the "why the fuck not" rule.
First, I would buy some raw materials aiming for maximizing thinness and flexibility. I would probably stay away from polyethylene-based fibers like Dyneema, as they're generally kinda stiff. I'd look at various Aramid-based blends, like GoldFlex or some such.
I would take the fabric out and shoot a bunch of it to test for the minimum number of layers required to reliably stop both .44 magnum and 5.7x28mm, as I am aiming for thin protection from penetration and not necessarily blunt trauma mitigation to meet actual NIJ testing spec. I am fully aware this means an impact may break bones or cause internal injuries, but the idea is not to be a full substitute for actual body armor but rather a minimum protection that's built-in and always there as a last line of defense in case of muggings or whatever. If actual protection is needed, even a thin vest over the top of this would bump the protection up to well above normal levels, and the implanted armor would provide the needed blunt trauma protection behind hard armor plates for stopping rifle rounds, eliminating the need for a vest or "plate backers" as they are known.
After finding the right layer count, I would cut and shape the panels to conform to the body's natural contours and movements, rather than using commercial armor panels that generally follow large, polygonal construction and aren't the most ergonomic things around. The idea here would be to minimize the need for the panels themselves to flex or shift during movement, to minimize discomfort or risk of tissue damage. This will result in more seams/gaps than traditional armor, but again this is not intended to be a substitute for a vest for someone going in harm's way.
After making the panels, I would seal the edges with some silicone glue or similar flexible, strong adhesive. This would keep the layers together and prevent unwanted fraying from movement (this is a large part of what degrades vests and gives them a shelf-life during regular use).
Next each panel would be dipped or otherwise coated in implant-grade silicone. I think silicone would be the coating of choice for one big reason - the body doesn't bond to the implant as with parylene-C or similar coatings, so this would allow the panels to move freely as needed within the healed "pocket" and prevent tugging or tearing of tissue during activity.
Then I'd have a skilled implant artist shove 'em inside. I'm thinking mainly torso coverage, possibly shoulder and thigh/calf but I'd figure out the details of placement after the first few steps, as the mechanical properties of the armor I settle on would have a lot to do with the practicality of implant locations.
First, I would buy some raw materials aiming for maximizing thinness and flexibility. I would probably stay away from polyethylene-based fibers like Dyneema, as they're generally kinda stiff. I'd look at various Aramid-based blends, like GoldFlex or some such.
I would take the fabric out and shoot a bunch of it to test for the minimum number of layers required to reliably stop both .44 magnum and 5.7x28mm, as I am aiming for thin protection from penetration and not necessarily blunt trauma mitigation to meet actual NIJ testing spec. I am fully aware this means an impact may break bones or cause internal injuries, but the idea is not to be a full substitute for actual body armor but rather a minimum protection that's built-in and always there as a last line of defense in case of muggings or whatever. If actual protection is needed, even a thin vest over the top of this would bump the protection up to well above normal levels, and the implanted armor would provide the needed blunt trauma protection behind hard armor plates for stopping rifle rounds, eliminating the need for a vest or "plate backers" as they are known.
After finding the right layer count, I would cut and shape the panels to conform to the body's natural contours and movements, rather than using commercial armor panels that generally follow large, polygonal construction and aren't the most ergonomic things around. The idea here would be to minimize the need for the panels themselves to flex or shift during movement, to minimize discomfort or risk of tissue damage. This will result in more seams/gaps than traditional armor, but again this is not intended to be a substitute for a vest for someone going in harm's way.
After making the panels, I would seal the edges with some silicone glue or similar flexible, strong adhesive. This would keep the layers together and prevent unwanted fraying from movement (this is a large part of what degrades vests and gives them a shelf-life during regular use).
Next each panel would be dipped or otherwise coated in implant-grade silicone. I think silicone would be the coating of choice for one big reason - the body doesn't bond to the implant as with parylene-C or similar coatings, so this would allow the panels to move freely as needed within the healed "pocket" and prevent tugging or tearing of tissue during activity.
Then I'd have a skilled implant artist shove 'em inside. I'm thinking mainly torso coverage, possibly shoulder and thigh/calf but I'd figure out the details of placement after the first few steps, as the mechanical properties of the armor I settle on would have a lot to do with the practicality of implant locations.
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Sealing the edges of multilayer panels is a tried and true practice that works wonders, so if you have objections to it you will need to explain them thoroughly as the armor industry and my own personal projects in the past have incorporated it to reach the desired effects I described.
You'll need to explain your fouling concern more, I don't think I get it - are you talking about "chunks" of silicone forming during the coating process?
The edge coating does not degrade if you do it right, barring impacts less than an inch from the edge. Also, the entire panel would be coated in silicone, so the edge seal itself is not in contact with any biological tissues and any microscopic tears in the seal would have no effect unless the coating was breached, in which case you have bigger problems and should be getting the panel replaced ASAP.
I googled "implant fouling" and got a nifty patent and some surface-level articles, it seems to be a problem with catheters and medical devices due to microbial contamination? Has this been an issue for anyone with cosmetic silicone subdermals like horns/beads/whathaveyou? It does appear to be a cause for concern, unless there's an easy way around it that the bodymod industry has been using that I'm not aware of.
Also, given your last statement about the impact-resistance of silicone, I think maybe you are under the impression the armor is designed to stop repeated hits? It's not, each panel should be considered "single use only", as an impact will breach all coatings and protective means and penetrate several layers of fabric (this is by design), and you'll have a lovely hunk of lead/copper/tungsten embedded in your body, not to mention a .22-.50" diameter hole in your skin that's now spewing blood. If it gets hit, the entire panel is removed and the area allowed to heal prior to installation of a new one. Silicone is plenty impact-resistant enough for everyday activity, but there is no bioproofing method in the world that is literally bulletproof for this application.
The implant would need to be made of a strong material to provide any sort of ballistic protection, since it's full of holes.
Also, it would only work if we assume that the surrounding tissue would grow through all of those tiny holes. I don't know if any research has been done on this, but if not you would be wise to make a small trial implant to see how well it's tolerated by the body before going full scale.
Lamination would be virtually impossible with this type of an implant due to the small structures involved.
Unless the material chosen is bioproof as well as strong, it would need to be coated in such a way that it does not block the holes yet completely isolates the substrate from the living tissue.
be completed.Given all this, I doubt that you could produce a successful implant by Christmas. It could take years for a project like this to
i want to throw in that , even if such armoring can stop a bullet, it won't provide good protection against bullets with more energy as the impact itself would cause severe internal injuries, even with the bullet not penetrating.
@ThomasEgi: If constructed with layers of ballistic fabric, the blunt protection would be similar to soft armor vests in use throughout the industry (I would be shaving some trauma protection to save on thickness, but prior tests have shown this to not be much of a game-changer, I expect the materials I'd be using would be similar). That's not to say it won't still injure you, but it certainly beats a penetrating injury clean through your chest cavity.
@glims: I am very interested in the boron fabric, please keep us in the loop!
@both of you: Dyneema may be bioproof, but layering something inside the body without sealing it is sure to lead to a lot of interesting complications like that biofouling for one. In order for this to have any chance as ballistic protection it would have to be a single, sealed and bioproofed panel with all the layers inside kept completely isolated from your body's tissues. Basically exactly the same construction as soft armor panels used in vests, only smaller and shaped to fit your anatomy (and then bioproofed and shoved under your skin).
I'm now thinking more along the lines of small strips of armor, like a sort of ballistic banded plate armor, with the strips laid in line with muscle groups and ribs. What are the potential complications with several narrow strip-shaped implants laid close together? Does this help alleviate issues with nerves/capillaries?
An alternate project might be, rather than implanting the armor itself, using transdermal mounting points for anatomically-shaped panels that are then attached externally to the implants via snaps, bolts, whatever works. An impact would likely cause rejection of some of the implants, but again this beats taking a round. This would also allow for armor upgrades as tech improves, though it is a relatively slow-moving field.
That being said, I would personally love some bone-mounted armor grafts, if they're attached to bone you could use hard plates for rifle protection even, since the mounting points won't move with respect to each other. But somehow I think I'd have a really hard time convincing any surgeon to help with such an endeavor...
If the plates are going to be external, I see no point in mounting them transdermally rather than simply wearing them. and with a large-scale transdermal array, your chances of infection and rejection are near 100% I'd imagine. Perhaps if bone-mounts become an option this would be worth consideration, but I'd HIGHLY recommend staying away from transdermals otherwise.
And now for something purely for fun: Transdermal magnets, and "breakaway" armor the has embedded magnets to just snap into place, and when struck it just curls around the bullet and falls off!
Seems when it comes to armor, external wear really is the way to go. I'll refocus my energies on implanted electronics again. :)
I'd use regular old steel for the armor hookups though. Too strong a bond and you could risk crushing the dermis or maybe even ripping out the implants/not being able to remove the plates at all.
You could easily make Titanium ballistic plates like you describe, but in terms of efficacy they would be inferior to Kevlar or steel.
Using Titanium and bone for armor would be excellent for non-ballistic protection though, thin plates of Titanium are hard enough to withstand all sorts of abuse and flexible enough not to shatter like Tungsten Carbide would.
A heavy-gauge mesh (maybe 20g or thicker) of grade 5 Titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) could be shaped around soft tissue and should be strong enough on its own (once the site has healed and connective formed through the mesh) to provide impressive protection from routine injuries like falling onto pavement or hitting your elbow on the stove (comes to mind as I just did that making breakfast). Expand on that and you could potentially have built-in motocross or riot armor.
@Cassox, as our surgery guy, have anything to comment? I'm thinking this is a medical tourism thing.
a thicker mesh made from that stuff, topped by several layers of fine-meshed dynema may be an idea. given you are ok with cutting away big patches of skin and letting them grow back together again.
it's probably a lot easier, and cheaper to just wear a shirt made of simmilar stuff. unless of course you enjoy fighting mostly naked. of course there are other non-military-grade viscoelastic materials. some are used to build protective snowboard gear. it may not stop a bullet. but preventing a broken bone would be fine,too
Hmm Thomas you seem to have not just immediately shot this down like I was sure you would have. Though yeah your "wear a T-shirt" pretty much showed how much the idea overall is like the whole NASA vs Russia pencil vs pen thing.(though I know the actual story with that, just using it as a well known example).
Anyways I think the best use for this sort of idea of implanting extremely strong 'cloth' would be reinforcing bone itself, but this would most likely be outside grinder level.
Plus then we'd have a real-world example of the "dermal armor plating" that's so popular in cyberpunk fiction. I'm looking at YOU, Mr. Jensen.