Design and Development of Modular Arm Cast Using Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

The plaster cast and fiberglass cast are the popular elbow dislocation treatment method for immobilization. These are relatively heavy, non-removable, and poorly ventilated, hence might create skin diseases, irritation under the cast and joint injury, if not cast properly. It takes long preparation time and cannot be adjusted after casting, which may lead to improper healing in case if the bone gets little shift insidethe cast. In this work, the orthopedics arm cast prototype is designed and fabricated by using additive manufacturing with ABS material. The core concept of the model is the elbow support and modular rings with a specific width added to achieve a specific support length. After properly positioning the patient’s arm the pressure on the arm can be adjustsed by the small clamps with velcro straps. This has advantages over conventional cast that it provide cast adjustments, proper ventilation, washable, and reusable.