Broken arms and smelly old casts are no match for Kiwi ingenuity, thanks to a 3D-printed exoskeletal cast concept designed by a New Zealand student.
Jake Evill’s Cortex Exoskeletal Cast looks like a sci-fi / haute couture mashup, but its webbed shape plays an important role in its function. The Victoria University industrial design grad worked with the university’s medical department to come up with the concept.
Using a combination x-ray photographs of the break and a 3D scanner, each cast is printed precisely for the wearer’s needs. Fasteners are used to clip the Cortex Cast around the arm, writes Evill on his website.
The membrane structure provides support where it’s needed (around the break or fracture) while making the cast lighter than the traditional affair. In fact, Evill says his concept cast can be worn under a long sleeved shirt.
The holes in the structure also makes it possible to wash and clean, meaning no more lost pencils wedged inside of weeks-long casts.
