Breaking an arm is no fun. Neither is having to wear an itchy, smelly, uncomfortable cast for months while the bone mends. A company called Cast21, though, says it can make the healing process easier.
The business, which is based in Chicago, Illinois, has invented a plastic sleeve a doctor can slip onto a patient’s arm. “You pull it on like a glove,” says Cast21 co-founder Ashley Moy. The sleeve is made of flexible tubes arranged in a crisscross pattern. Next, the doctor injects liquid resin into the tubes. It contains molecules that combine to form large polymers that harden to hold the limb in place.
The chemical reaction takes just minutes, making the device quicker to apply than traditional plaster casts. Plus, it’s lightweight, breathable, and waterproof.