Abstract: An attachment system is provided which may include a cord, a fastener coupled to a first portion of the cord, a tensioner coupled to a second portion of the cord, and a first fitting arranged to couple either the fastener or the tensioner to the cord. The tensioner is configured to retain a third portion of the cord to maintain the tension in the cord. An attachment system may include a first working component configured to be coupled to the cord, and a first fitting arranged to couple the first working component to the cord. The first working component may have a cavity configured to receive at least a portion of the first fitting, and the first fitting may have an actively moveable element configured to retain the cord when the first fitting is positioned in the working component cavity.

Abstract: Strap buckles for headgear can be independently adjusted by single-handed operation while the headgear is worn. To tighten the straps, the wearer pulls a strap buckle toward the chin. The adjustment preferably involves a 1:1 length-adjustment ratio, such that the strap is shortened substantially by the amount the wearer pulls on the buckle.

Abstract: A mechanism for deploying a fastener into skin tissue comprises a first foot, a second foot, and an insertion device. The first foot is configured to contact an external surface of the skin tissue on one side of an incision or wound. The second foot is configured to contact the external skin surface on the other side of the incision/wound. The first and second feet are spaced apart by a gap, and each is configured to allow the skin tissue from one side of the incision or wound to be retracted thereover at an acute angle to expose an inner surface of each of the sides of the incision or wound. The insertion device releasably holds the fastener and is movable to deploy the fastener into the exposed inner surfaces from above and generally perpendicular to the external skin surface.

Abstract: A helmet assembly is provided including a front mount configured to attach to the front of the helmet above a brim of the helmet, a mandible for protecting a portion of the user's face, a lower edge rim mounting portion such as a halo attached along the lower edge of the helmet for securing the mandible to a helmet and providing power and data conduits. The front mount provides a center top mounting arrangement that operatively connects a center top location of the face shield to a center front mount on the helmet The mount provides frontal bracket portions for mounting accessories. The helmet assembly provides a helmet shell with a curved shape having a surrounding reinforcing ridge. A reeling system is provided for adjusting front and lower chin straps. Other improvements in helmet assemblies are also disclosed.

Abstract: Strap buckles for headgear can be independently adjusted by single-handed operation while the headgear is worn. To tighten the straps, the wearer pulls a strap buckle toward the chin. The adjustment preferably involves a 1:1 length-adjustment ratio, such that the strap is shortened substantially by the amount the wearer pulls on the buckle.

Abstract: A mounting buckle for a safety helmet includes at least one mating member configured for attachment to a V-shaped strap having an apex, the apex of the strap being substantially flush with the abutment surface. This configuration channels the tension in the straps along continuous lines, rather than allowing the tension to dissipate in an intervening length of strap.

Abstract: A tissue fastener includes a bridge section and two cannulated leg sections. The tissue fastener is a single piece of material, and the material can be a bioabsorbable material. Each of the two leg sections can include at least one barb for resisting dislodgement from tissue after the fastener is inserted into tissue. The bridge can be flexible, and the leg sections can receive needles to allow insertion of the fastener into tissue from above a surface of the tissue. Various insertion devices and mechanisms are possible to deploy the fastener into a wound in a patient's skin from above the surface of and generally perpendicular to the skin.

Abstract: A mounting buckle for a safety helmet includes at least one mating member configured for attachment to a V-shaped strap having an apex, the apex of the strap being substantially flush with the abutment surface. This configuration channels the tension in the straps along continuous lines, rather than allowing the tension to dissipate in an intervening length of strap.