New Zealand scientists are designing a next-generation leg splint which could revolutionise orthotics for disabled children.
They're 3D printed from carbon-fibre, so they're cheaper and faster to make, and they contain special sensors which make them a bit smarter too.
Fourteen-year-old Daisy Eaglesome doesn't let her spina bifida hold her back. She plays for the Auckland Wheelstarz junior wheelchair basketball club but she relies on splints to help her walk.
"It affects both of my legs but mostly my left leg. I'm paralysed from the knee down," she says.
She says the plastic leg splints currently available in New Zealand break easily and don't provide enough support for her growing body. And getting shoes to fit over the top of them is an added struggle.
She currently travels to Australia for a more supportive carbon fibre splint, but a new type is being designed by a team of researchers here which could make her life better.
3D scanning means it will be custom-made for the best fit, and sensors will keep tabs on how it's performing.
"Ultimately what we'd like to do is restore her function so that she would walk as you and I, as an able-bodied individual, so that it doesn't cost her a lot of energy, so that it's comfortable and so she doesn't even know the device is there," says University of Auckland associate professor Thor Besier.
The sensors could even make the splint act as a video game controller, making rehabilitation exercises more fun.
They hope to have a prototype made for Daisy within the next year and it could be widely available in two years.
"The thing about having disability is not to let it restrict you in any way and so I think having these new splints will help me do anything I want to do," says Ms Eaglesome.
The Smart Splint is one of a number of medical technologies being showcased an interactive exhibition which opens at Auckland's waterfront silos this weekend.
From computer simulated surgery to composing music from heart beats, people will be able to see how medical technology is changing lives and healthcare.
The Medtech exhibition runs from October 29th to November 6th.
Newshub.
