Prototype racing suit unveiled to prevent injury to skiers

A new prototype racing suit, unveiled in Austria just hours before freestyle skiing superstar Sarah Burke's death, could help prevent future injuries.

The system would inflate on impact to help cushion a skier's fall.

According to design specifications, the airbags would inflate within the first 40 milliseconds of a fall and reach maximum pressure within 100 milliseconds.

"Crashes may always happen, but this could help racers walk away from it without serious injuries," says FIS race director Guenter Hujara.

Italian designers hope the suit would protect a skier's back, chest, shoulders and collar bones.

Several world cup skiers have been helping develop the system; they've been wearing a special back protector with a computer chip that's been collecting data on speed and movement of the body during a race.

Researchers hope to continue collecting data over the coming year to fine-tune the project before the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

The airbags won't protect legs or knees, two of the most injured parts of a skier's body, so officials are hoping to integrate it with other safety measures to help skiers walk away in one piece.