Industrial design students from Sheffield Hallam University have just won an international competition for their novel orthopedic splint that is designed to stabilize fractured bones when medical treatment is not readily available.
Extreme sports fans could soon have instant medical treatment for broken limbs that occur in remote locations, following the design of a unique, versatile portable plastic splint, which has won an international design award.
The pioneering First Aid Splint is designed to protect and aid the recovery of damaged bones when the patient is in isolated conditions that are difficult to reach by medical teams and should provide aid to the 45,000 victims of snow sport injuries which occur every year.
The splint applies rigidness and heat quickly to the limb via a special gel created by a chemically reactive metal strip and saturated sodium acetate solution. It was devised as part of an international collaboration between Sheffield Hallam University and the Institut Superieur de Plasturgie d’Alencon (ISPA), France, to explore the lightweight, pliable properties of plastic.
MA Industrial Design students at Sheffield Hallam University, Ching-Sui Kao, from Taiwan and Geremi Durand, from St Ettiene, France, joined engineering student Maxime Ducloux from the ISPA plastic centre of excellence to design the First Aid Splint, which incorporates essential medical treatment with convenience.
Read more: Plastic limb splint could provide instant treatment for broken bones . . .
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