Engineers Develop Breathable, Waterproof Cast To Replace Itchy Plaster Casts

No bones about it, breaking a bone is a surefire way to ruin a good time. Whether you are climbing a tree, playing sports, or trying to float off a roof with an umbrella, most of the time, you’ve got a pretty good idea right away that something with your limb is just not quite right. Believe it or not, there are some people who go through life never breaking a single bone, while others seem to have broken nearly every bone in the book. Most folks who’ve endured the unpleasant experience of breaking a bone can tell you all about the sharp pain and constant ache, but there’s something else associated with broken limbs that’s just about as uncomfortable as the pain, and that’s the itching.

The moment after you’ve finally gotten that plaster cast put on, the itch party kicks off. It’s like a gang of itch fairies suddenly discovered every spot underneath your cast you can’t reach and decided to invite some friends for a wrestling match. Thankfully, it seems that the days of plaster cast may soon come to an end, thanks to a group of clever engineers who decided to invent something that would help ease the torment of folks who break their arms. So they came up with a brand new type of cast, one that allows your skin to breathe — and it’s waterproof!

So now you won’t have to worry about getting your cast wet when you take a shower.

Image credits: cast21official

The new cast was developed by a startup called Cast21, who researched all the known issues associated with plaster casts and tackled them head-on. Electrical engineer Justin Brooks, biomedical designer Asley Moy, and Jason Troutner, all former students of Illinois University, came up with the more hygienic, breathable, waterproof cast. Another great thing about it is that it only takes 10 minutes to fit using a liquid resin that hardens to set a broken bone into place.

Image credits: cast21official

In the near future, all the headaches (and itches) associated with plaster casts may be a thing of the past, like Tivo or parachute pants.

Image credits: cast21official

“We have this radical notion that you can enjoy your healing experience. You don’t need to be restrained from daily activities,” Cast21’s vice president of engineering Veronica Hogg explained to the Daily Mail. According to her, their cast is designed to be removed easier than usual as well and doesn’t need a circular saw.

“Another bonus is that no electricity or water is needed to apply our cast, so it’s very portable. It has potential for use in the military and for at-home first aid,” Hogg highlighted.

Image credits: cast21official

Those who look at Deniz Karasahin’s prototype cast named “Osteoid” might say it looks similar to the Cast21 design. However, these casts are different. For instance, Karasahin’s cast is printed on a 3D printer (as opposed to allowing the resin to dry) and uses ultrasound.