Being a human is pretty hard sometimes. We are just so gosh darned fragile. All it takes is one mistake, one drunken mishap, and we’ll be laid out quicker than you can say “driving drunk is a great idea.” So yeah. Our bones are especially fragile. They are just bones after all. They are easy to break, jab or otherwise mangle into an unidentifiable form. That’s where medicine comes in, and in-particular the medicine of placing a cast over broken bones. Can this technology be improved at all? After all, it definitely falls into the purview of wearable technology. Why, yes it can, and thanks for asking.
The magic of 3D printers, which are printers that create just about anything you can dream up in 3D space, have struck again with a cast that mends broken bones in record time. How on Earth does it work better than those old school casts that people sign and draw embarrassing pictures on? Well, the cast leaves space open near the actual broken bone, which means the patient can undergo daily ultrasound treatments, which has been reported to increase healing speeds by as much as 80 percent. Also, this cast is easily removed and easily washed, which means there is very little chance of infection or anything else grody happening that can impede the healing process.
This design was put together by Turkish student, Denis Karasahin, who managed to win the 2014 Golden A’Design Award for his idea. Unfortunately, it’s only a prototype design for now, but with an idea this good it shouldn’t be too long before all of our broken bones end up being healed in something using this technology or something similar.Â
