This newfangled cast won't get gross in the shower
Goodbye, itchy casts

"If you made a list of things that sucked about breaking your arm, the fiberglass cast to heal you would be close to the top," said Daniel Cooper at Engadget. You can't shower with it or get at your increasingly itchy skin. But a pretzel-like sleeve designed by three University of Illinois students could make the experience of wearing a cast significantly more comfortable — and much less gross.
Unlike a traditional cast, Cast21's webbed design can get wet and leaves plenty of skin exposed, meaning patients can "scratch those itches when [they] need to." The cast is made up of a series of hollow, interconnected silicon tubes, which a doctor injects with a mixture of liquids to harden the sleeve in place. Cast21's makers are currently looking for investors to back the initial prototype and manufacturing stages, with the goal of launching patient trials by mid-2017.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published