As the regular season for the National Football League has arrived this month, there are continuing concerns regarding the players' brain condition and safety. A neuropathologist, who examined the brains of 111 NFL players, discovered in July that 100 former players have a chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease caused by frequent blows to the head and concussions.

Obviously, CTE is one of the biggest issues that have been discussed within the sports community. In 2013, pediatric neurosurgeon Sam Browd, mechanical engineer Per Reinhall and Marver founded Seattle-based startup VICIS, manufacturing VICIS' Zero1 helmet in efforts to reduce concussion problems and protect athletes from getting head injuries and concussions.

"This has become not a sports protection problem, but a public concern," VICIS CEO and co-founder Dave Marver said, according to CNBC's On the Money."

In March, VICIS' Zero1 led among the top performing group in a helmet laboratory testing coordinated by the NFL and NFLPA. The startup received an award of $750,000 in support of medical research and engineering developments. The NFL also chipped in $60 million in establishing the marketplace to develop helmet technology called Engineering Roadmap.

NFL's executive vice president of health and safety policy Jeff Miller noticed that players' helmet preferences are changing based on the testing.

The helmet experience

The company's Zero1 helmet is made of a high-engineered material designed to reduce impact forces and prevent athletes from getting a range of head and brain injuries.

Several NFL players seemed to relish the experience of trying something new and tested its quality of the helmet. NFL teams that some players sport the new helmets contained the Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. Marver would like to see 50 NFL players wear VICIS helmets this season.

This past spring, college athletic departments received VICIS helmets so that college football players could experiment with the new equipment.

The VICIS helmet weights heavier than others. The Journal of Biomechanical Engineering cited that football players on any level wear helmets with the average weight of 4.0 pounds. The average weight of VICIS helmet is 4.83 pounds.

Until the firm makes helmet lighter for customers, some of the massive technology proponents are not interested in buying and utilizing the heavier helmet.

Scott Rotier, the assistant equipment manager at Washington Redskins, acknowledged to ESPN that players are uncertain about wearing the VICIS helmet because of the way it looks and they are uneasy with the new changing looks. The Redskins players seem to prefer wearing the traditional-looking helmets despite low ranking in safety testing.

Scientists and neurosurgeons step up

The brain injuries are seen as the number one health issue in the NFL. John Urschel, the 26-year old offensive lineman who played for the Baltimore Ravens, and Chris Borland, the 24-year old linebacker who played for the 49ers, decided to walk away from the game of football due to concerns over concussions and several factors that could increase the risk of getting a brain trauma.

Additionally, from 2009 to 2015, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association saw a dramatic drop in youth tackle football participation by 19 percent.

Following the proof of the long-term effects of concussions, the league and athletes began to test on new helmets for safety. The technology company, directed by scientists, neurosurgeons, and engineers, stepped up to innovate the product to make certain that safety is the top priority for athletes at any cost. Other companies, such as Riddell and Schutt, focus on helmet innovation for athletes as well.

This year, Riddell launched new helmet called Precision-Fit on its Speed Flex, a process that features 3D head-scanning technology to build a completely custom-fitting helmet for athletes.

Thad Ide, the vice president of research and product development at Riddell, remarked that Riddell helmets have been worn by 62 percent of the NFL players last season.

Zero1 helmet is costly

VICIS intends to create helmets for skiing and other sports in the future.

While Zero1 helmet is not on the market, VICIS has an estimated $1,500 price tag for consumers who are interested in buying it. The new product costs up to three to five time more expensive than current and standard helmets. Marver said the price is likely to go down and hopes that the Seattle-produced helmet will attract youth sports.

Current and retired athletes, surgeons and team owners have invested in VICIS, and the startup has generated $40 million over the last four years.