Engineers Create Breathable And Waterproof Arm Cast To Replace Plaster Casts

Most people fall into one of two categories. Those of us who have fragile bones that seem to break every time we have a small accident and those of us who seem to have bones of steel and bounce back from every nasty misfortune.

However, as some of us know, breaking an arm or a leg is a horrible experience. Because of the constant pain, as well as the discomfort of having to wear a plaster cast.

A group of engineers based in Chicago decided to make the lives of people who break their arms a bit easier and came up with a new design for a cast. It’s even waterproof, so no more having to shower with a trash bag over your cast!

We know breaking your bones can be difficult, so after you read this post, check out Bored Panda’s previous articles about a hamster with a tiny cast for its broken arm, creative cast art, as well as a person who made his cast look like Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet.

More info: Cast21.com | Facebook | Instagram

Engineers from Chicago came up with a new type of arm cast

Image credits: cast21official

A Chicago startup called Cast21 looked into the problems of plaster casts and tackled them head-on. Jason Troutner, biomedical design engineer Ashley Moy, and electrical engineer Justin Brooks, all from the University of Illinois, came up with a breathable, more hygienic, waterproof cast that can be fitted in around 10 minutes, using liquid resin that hardens and sets the bone in place.

The cast is waterproof and more hygienic

Image credits: cast21official

The only time I broke something [knocks on wood] was my left wrist, right before my summer exams at school. So I had to sit in a hot room while it’s boiling outside, writing essay after essay for hours on end while my hand constantly reminded me that, yup, it’s still broken. Trust me, it wasn’t fun.

Image credits: cast21official

The cast can be set in around 10 minutes and is easier to remove than a plaster cast

Image credits: cast21official

“We have this radical notion that you can enjoy your healing experience. You don’t need to be restrained from daily activities,” Cast21’s vice president of engineering Veronica Hogg explained to the Daily Mail. According to her, their cast is designed to be removed easier than usual as well and doesn’t need a circular saw.

Image credits: cast21official

Here’s a video that shows how easy the arm cast is to clean

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One wipe and the mess is gone! With cleanup being this easy, there’s nothing holding you back from tapping into your creative side!
A post shared by CAST21 (@cast21official) on Oct 26, 2018 at 3:08pm PDT

“Another bonus is that no electricity or water is needed to apply our cast, so it’s very portable. It has potential for use in the military and for at-home first aid,” Hogg highlighted.

Image credits: cast21official

Those of you who saw designer Deniz Karasahin’s prototype for a new kind of cast called ‘Osteoid’ might think that it’s similar to Cast21’s design, but they are different. In this case, Karasahin’s design is 3D printed (not letting liquid resin dry) and involves ultrasound.