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Concept Cast: A 3D-Printed Exoskeletal Cast from Jake Evill
print of this will probably be knocked down to about 30minutes time. The technology is only getting faster. Plus you don't need a doctor's time for this. A tech can do it.. and in larger hospitals provide a faster cast applying rate at a cheaper cost.
Plus it's much more enjoyable product to wear as the typical casts are wasteful and gross.
There is nothing that says you can't still have a temp cast for the first day or two while you wait for your part to be produced.
Some of these more organic uses don't necessarily need .005" accuracy. Rapid prototyping could compromise accuracy for speed for some specialized applications like this. In any case, it could even be applied as a more comfortable second cast. I.e. after a couple weeks after the bone has set, a plaster cast is replaced by a more comfortable device.
Besides that, there could be other benefits as well such as regional stiffness and gradual transition away from the damaged area with increasing flexibility - which certainly would make it more comfortable. This could be a distant relative of bespokeinnovations - and between temporary casts and replacement limbs, it's not difficult to see where this can go with static limb/joint assists for protection (shin, wrist guards), damaged limbs (arthritis), and/or eventual integration with bionic limbs.
"one side is open to enable access and once fitted, it snaps closed with built-in, durable fasteners..."
It would be good to see how this works though..
Funny foam that cast on.How about putting some terrazo in the plaster mix instead lol.
No way to graffiti it either.
Just imagine you have a broken arm or hand, but instead of wrapping it with plaster, which is already painful enough, you would have to stick your whole arm into this thing...Besides, plaster is a much cheaper and faster solution.
So, I think this idea would work well as a piece of jewelry, not as a medical solution. It is just not practical, it is expensive, it requires technologies that are not available in hospitals and it is only significantly better than its conventional counterpart is terms of aesthetic.