Zdravprint is a new company and it’s changing the way people view broken bones by creating exciting new casts using 3D printing. The Russian company was set up by keen skateboarder Fyodor Aptekarev who had suffered a few broken bones and came too dreaded the occasions when he was forced to wear an invasive cast which could not get wet and became hard to wield on a daily basis. It was his own personal experience that led him to start Zdravprint and the creation of a more practical and comfortable alternative.
The bio-plastic used to create these casts means that the elasticity can be controlled and provide patients with a more hygienic and lightweight version of the typically traditional cast, the 3D printed casts easier to use and much cleaner, they require far fewer changes and have the added benefit of being a lot more pleasing in an aesthetic sense than their bulky white predecessor. Although a plaster cast must be used in the initial week after the injury, the new lightweight printed cast can be used thereafter until the bone has healed.
Fitting it takes less than an hour, but it can take up to 12 hours to print the cast, but due to the nature of 3D printing the colour and design could become a very attractive. According to 3D printing consultants Wohlers Associates, Inc., additive manufacturing and 3D printing in 2014 received $3 billion of investment worldwide, and that is expected to quadruple to $12 billion by 2018. The founders of Zdravprint were also inspired by a recent 3D printed dress made for burlesque model Dita von Teese, demonstrating that this method of plastic design can influence the realms of fashion and fun, as well as becoming a significant part of the health industry as well.
– See more at: http://rt.com/news/229947-3d-printing-custom-orthesis/
