"I will break my arm voluntarily if these are made"
July 1, 2013 7:01 AM   Subscribe

Breaking a bone often means a stinky, itchy cast that hinders personal hygiene arrangements and means your friends seem to suddenly think it's ok to scrawl obscene graffiti on you (although some people find ways of making them super awesome). But what about a 3D-printed cast?

It's fixed on in hospital, custom-fitted to your limb, totally washable and even recyclable by the hospital when they take it off, to make the next one.
posted by greenish (41 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
But then we'll have to find a new way to manufacture pecorino romano.
posted by nathancaswell at 7:05 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


*Steadies left arm. Bites leather. Raises hammer...*
posted by billiebee at 7:08 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


That's not a cast, that's an exoskeleton. Why stop at the forearm?
posted by alms at 7:09 AM on July 1, 2013


I'm quickly losing my skepticism about 3D printing. People are doing really cool stuff with it that I wouldn't have expected.
posted by gauche at 7:11 AM on July 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


I'm not entirely comfortable with a futuristic exoskeleton-like object created by somebody named Jake Evill.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 7:15 AM on July 1, 2013 [7 favorites]


How long until we read about someone sneaking their partners in for some seriously high tech BDSM play? I mean, I can see doing the printing at home, but the scanning is dubious.
posted by Samizdata at 7:16 AM on July 1, 2013


What about durability? This doesn't look like it would survive even moderate strain.
posted by ymgve at 7:17 AM on July 1, 2013


And, on a more serious note, having had to wear a hip to ankle cast for several months (due to knee surgery at a young age), how would that work from a load bearing angle?
posted by Samizdata at 7:20 AM on July 1, 2013


I believe this is just a design concept, not an actual thing.
posted by rebent at 7:20 AM on July 1, 2013 [3 favorites]


i would wear this and think that mod cortex is hugging my broken bones and feel better
(●°u°●)​ 」
posted by Foci for Analysis at 7:22 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


how would that work from a load bearing angle?

I suspect you could incorporate metal struts or braces (also recyclable) so as to take the weight while stabilizing the break.
posted by gauche at 7:23 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Why stop at the forearm?

I know scoliosis braces have already gotten a bit thinner than when I was a pre-teen, but this type of exoskeleton would have been awesome. No more sweat itches.

We use 3-D printing for prototypes at work, and even base prototype material can handle pretty surprising structural loading for it's cross-section. Many different types of material can be adapted for 3D printing with a wide variety of load and elasticity properties, so although this is just a design concept, I don't think it's pie-in-the-sky.
posted by muddgirl at 7:25 AM on July 1, 2013


I'd rather not let my arm be enveloped by a scary white fungus.

Maybe if they had a better algorithm for creating the mesh pattern or made it in a different color....
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:25 AM on July 1, 2013


In terms of structural strength, Airbus think that random honeycomb thingy is what planes might look like in the future as well.

Presumably casts could be made from polymer, sintered metal, all sorts. And even include bespoke articulation if needs be?
posted by dowcrag at 7:29 AM on July 1, 2013


I'm not entirely comfortable with a futuristic exoskeleton-like object created by somebody named Jake Evill.

Just wait until he gets his doctorate.

(Seriously, though. Look at his website, which has projects called "Mandible" and "Pola", along with the CORTEX cast. Those are Bond villain names for science projects.)
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:29 AM on July 1, 2013 [4 favorites]


This cast is beautiful and in retrospect, totally obvious. That's the mark of good design.

I wonder what kind of material would make the most sense? The pictures look like the usual crappy white nylon that's cheap to fab with extrusion printers. I think it might be too brittle in this application, but I'm no expert. Anyway one of the fun things about 3d printing is you can use a variety of materials. Sintered shiny metal would be really beautiful.

I think the DIY scanning part isn't so hard. Kinect-like devices are capable of accuracy <1cm. I don't know much about the topic though. Here's the MakerBot blog on 3d scanning which gives some idea of the challenges involved.

If you like this kind of object, Nervous System is a company that will sells interesting custom 3d-printed jewelry. A lot of their designs have this kind of biological lattice look. Metadesigns really, part of the fun is the way you can customize them.
posted by Nelson at 7:31 AM on July 1, 2013 [6 favorites]


If you haven't broken your arm already, hold on. I gave my wife a similar looking bracelet a few years ago from NERVOUS SYSTEM - who now are doing 3-d printed jewelry.

On preview, damn, Nelson beat me to it.
posted by photovox at 7:33 AM on July 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


Huh. I wore a nasty, sweaty plaster cast for four HIGH SUMMER weeks right after scoliosis surgery when I was 15. (It should have been 6 months, but I lost weight rapidly after surgery, probably from prolonged sulking, pouting, and stomping around the house.) The plastic and canvas brace I had to wear for the next 10 months wasn't so great, either.

Now if the technology had existed to build something like this, I would have been somewhat more pleasant to deal with.
posted by maudlin at 7:33 AM on July 1, 2013


dowcrag: "what planes might look like in the future"
Back to the future, more like. It's not exactly a new idea, though greater applications may be possible due to availability of better polymers.
posted by brokkr at 7:35 AM on July 1, 2013


I'd rather not let my arm be enveloped by a scary white fungus.

Have you ever had a cast removed? I've got bad news for you...
posted by nathancaswell at 7:44 AM on July 1, 2013 [6 favorites]


After I had surgery for a broken wrist, I had a cast for only a week before getting an arm brace that looked nearly identical to this, although it was solid and not a webbed grid (and it had velcro on the open side to keep it on my arm). The techniques and materials are already in use for some of these applications -- mine was custom-sculpted with a material that became pliable in hot water and then laid over my arm.
posted by mikeh at 7:51 AM on July 1, 2013


Whattaya mean "give it back"? Both of my kids wore as cast around age 8, and I bet both of them would LOVE to be able to buckle this thing on and play at being an Alien or something.

Which is a bigger market: charging hospitals for casts, or selling super-aweome toys to indulgent parents?
posted by wenestvedt at 8:01 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


DO WANT
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:08 AM on July 1, 2013


When they tell you not to get your cast wet, they mean it. Hoo boy those things get stank.

I would have loved to wear that 3D printed cast instead, although I probably would have driven myself crazy trying to shave my legs through the cast holes.
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:09 AM on July 1, 2013


Neat idea, but seems complicated... lotta steps, lotta software and high tech stuff. If what's needed is a porous, breathable cast maybe the answer lies in the direction of a more advanced plaster. Like a goop that can be cast thinner, infused with an admixture that would create air/nitrogen/whatever bubbles that set into holes, like an Aero bar (or a Crunchie).
posted by Flashman at 8:32 AM on July 1, 2013


OK, so you printed your fancy cast. How does it now go on?
posted by alex_skazat at 8:55 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


I know the fine article is over 100 words long, but if you can find the time to read it, it explains how the cast is meant to go on.
The polyamide pieces would be printed on-site and clip into place with fastenings that can't be undone until the healing process is complete.
posted by Nelson at 9:03 AM on July 1, 2013 [5 favorites]


Just as related information - the cast can get wet, it's the cotton layer under it that stinks and retains moisture.

This 3d printed thing would also require some soft layer under it to be wearable - so it doesn't really address the problem.

I've tested this, though, when my wrist was broken, and it's incredible. You can shower with it, exercise and sweat in it and just run water to rinse off the sweat inside the cast...

The only reason it's not readily available is the price and some obscure copyright battle...
posted by Riton at 10:59 AM on July 1, 2013


This 3d printed thing would also require some soft layer under it to be wearable - so it doesn't really address the problem.

An underlayer wouldn't retain moisture as readily, since the exoskeleton leaves it open to the air.
posted by muddgirl at 11:14 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


The soft layer underneath could easily be "dots" of padding that stick on where cell corners meet, like the little felt dots you stick on furniture feet so they don't scratch up hardwood floors (but using a more comfortable material than felt). Not a lot of material involved to soak up water, and the open design would allow them to dry easily.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:18 AM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


Wouldn't this design allow for better circulation? If so, it might be ideal for quadriplegics who can't have casts due to swelling. (I'll spare you my horror story about my broken femur and 9 months using a one-sided splint that broke.)

I'm more than a little worried about how they intend to get a broken limb inside a 3D scanner though. Maybe it would be better to have a normal scan already on file for emergencies.
posted by Soliloquy at 11:35 AM on July 1, 2013


3D scanners can be handheld, so even easier than getting a broken limb finangled for an x-ray. The results for a handheld scanner are, IME, a little bit worse, but I don't think a cast would need super-high precision.
posted by muddgirl at 11:57 AM on July 1, 2013


I thought we were the cortex exoskeletal cast.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:42 PM on July 1, 2013 [1 favorite]


I recently broke my radius near my wrist, and had a removable plastic/fabric cast for four weeks. It did build up an odor, but could be removed long enough to wash both the arm and the cast. (It also looked like an awesome futuristic bracer.) If someone had to have a cast on 24/7 for months, it would be nice to have one that was washable and breathable without needing to be removed... but I'd want an orthopedic surgeon to have more involvement in the design rather than, say, someone with a degree in "media design."
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:48 PM on July 1, 2013


"He worked with the orthopaedic department of his university on the project" says the article.
posted by aabbbiee at 1:26 PM on July 1, 2013


Ha! I cut the tendon in my pinky earlier this year and had to wear a MONSTROUS ace-bandage wrapped cast thing around my whole arm for like a month before being stuck in a plastic splint for like 2 months.

This cast is quite literally EXACTLY what I envisioned in my mind every day when I wished for a better cast / splint. It's like this guy was in my head. To anyone who has been immobilized and had to deal with a cast it is just so obvious that this is how casts and splints should actually be...you look at something like this...and then look at what currently exists, and all of a sudden 2013 looks like 1950.

Really hoping this is the future of casting / splinting. I want to scream about how much sense this makes.
posted by jnnla at 1:55 PM on July 1, 2013


Hey, that's my Hons. Alma Mater - Victoria University of Wellington represent!
posted by New England Cultist at 2:07 PM on July 1, 2013


I'm afraid we're going to have to agree to disagree MCMikeNamara.
posted by evilDoug at 6:36 PM on July 1, 2013 [2 favorites]


I know the fine article is over 100 words long, but if you can find the time to read it, it explains how the cast is meant to go on.

Gah, shamed for not reading every sentence in an article, on a exceptionally busy site with blinky things and moving sidebar doo-dads.

You know, for a design article, none of the visuals helped tell this part of its story. All the renderings just show a one-piece thingamajig - one of the renderings even show the one piece on someone - not two pieces, with all the hardware that's nebulously described. Forgive me if there's two ways of communicating an idea in the piece, describing two different stories. I usually go with, "show, don't tell". Damn art school degree...


Well, back to running my own business.
posted by alex_skazat at 11:08 PM on July 1, 2013


alex_skazat - that's ok, but why actually comment unless you've read it? You're basically expecting other people who did to do the legwork (eyework?!) for you and correct any assumptions you've made and voiced based on the concept images available.

Seriously, it's a short article, and I tend to think that the more keen to share your opinion you are, the more wise it is to make sure it's informed.
posted by greenish at 2:19 AM on July 2, 2013


In other 3D-printing news: NASA's low-cost 3D-printed rocket injector withstands test firing
posted by homunculus at 1:33 PM on July 12, 2013


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