A new orthopedic cast uses smart thermoplastic materials and a 4D printing approach where time and heat enable shape change. The cast is 3D printed in advance as a rigid lattice shell, then warmed at the clinic to become pliable. A clinician wraps the softened shell around the patient’s wrist, forearm, elbow, or ankle, clips it into position, and allows it to cool so it hardens to the limb’s exact shape. The design avoids plaster dust and messy tape application, and it removes with a simple pin release that lets the cast slide off. The open lattice structure supports continuous air circulation for comfort and allows water to pass through while enabling clinician adjustments without destroying the device.
"Their cast, TessaCast, uses what the company calls 4D printing. The terminology is worth pausing on, because it's easy to assume it's just marketing language. It isn't. The fourth dimension here is time. The cast is 3D printed in advance from smart thermoplastic materials, but the real transformation happens at the clinic, when heat is applied. Once warmed, the rigid lattice shell becomes pliable."
"A clinician wraps it around the patient's wrist, forearm, elbow, or ankle, clips it into position, and lets it cool. As it hardens, it conforms to the exact shape of that particular limb. No 3D scan. No casting tape. No plaster dust. The removal process is just as elegant. A simple pin releases the buckles, and the cast slides off."
"Castomize's design brief reads almost deceptively simple: a cast should hold the body securely while allowing skin to breathe, water to pass through, and clinicians to make adjustments without destroying the device. That sounds obvious when you read it out loud. And yet, until now, no cast on the market had actually delivered on all three at once."
"The open lattice structure of TessaCast allows air to circulate continuously against the skin, addressing the itching and sweating that ma"
Read at Yanko Design - Modern Industrial Design News
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