For those who have broken their legs and arms before, must know how cumbersome, heavy, smelly and uncomfortable the traditional plaster casts can get. Victoria University of Wellington graduate Jake Evill is looking to change all that with his Cortex cast. A mere concept for now, Evill says the cast — which is specifically fitted to each wearer based on X-rays of the fractured bone and a 3D scan of its surrounding limb. The merits here include the fact that its a light weight ventilated nylon cast. The open design is also shower-friendly, unlike bulky plaster casts.
With 3D printing taking over in Art, medicine,and other disciplines, the Cortex would be 3D printed on site, according to Evill, and each cast would be most dense near the location of a wearer’s fracture.
“After many centuries of splints and cumbersome plaster casts that have been the itchy and smelly bane of millions of children, adults and the aged alike, the world over, we at last bring fracture support into the twenty-first century”
From a digital humannism point of view the cortex cast may seem awkward especially from a fashion perspective, but we expect it to change a lot especially when it penetrates down to developing nations.
source: Jake Evill
