BrokenBones
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Science creates a cast that lets you scratch those itches
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. You can't shower with it, you can't get at your skin and you wind up an itchy, sweaty mess for months on end. Three college students out of Illinois believe that they can alleviate some of those bugbears with Cast21, a pretzel-esque sleeve that would replace traditional fiberglass castings.
Portable splint instantly hardens around broken limbs
If you always thought the inkjet approach to healing broken bones was too much of a stretch, you'll probably be interested in the plastic portable splint. Designed by Ching-Sui Kao, Geremi Durand, and Maxime Ducloux, the device is intended to be used by extreme sports participants (guess that includes Wii Sports?) that typically set records in either completion times or amount of damage done to their bodies, and can set your newly-broken limb into place right on the side of the mountain. By wrapping the limb with a set of flexible plastic strips, linking them up with Velcro, and finally applying a sodium citrate-based gel over top, a chemical reaction creates a rigid structure that forms a cast around the arm or leg. Of course, doctors can remove the material at the hospital and apply a more medically-approved rendition, but if you're looking for an easy way to excuse yourself from class or work without actually forging a doctor's note, here's your ticket.
