If you’ve ever broken a bone, you’ve likely been given a plaster cast to wear for a few weeks. And if you’ve worn one, you know just how gross it starts to feel after a few days – not to mention the inconvenience.

You can’t get it wet – so there goes a quick shower. Any moisture at home or outside gives it a gross, moldy smell. And anything that drips down your arm is never coming out. To top it off, they itch like mad.

Plaster casts are also unhygienic.

So how did it take so long to come up with a better alternative?!

We can’t answer that question, but we can tell you that things are already changing for the clumsy and unlucky among us thanks to a team of engineers from the University of Illinois.

Those students are now at the helm of a Chicago-based start-up called Cast21 which makes lightweight, breathable, and waterproof casts. No more stinky plaster!

The device is a mesh sleeve that is slipped onto a patient’s arm and filled with liquid resins. When the resins harden, the cast is rock solid, holding your broken bones in place but saving you all the other inconveniences of dealing with a bone injury.

In an interview with The Daily Mail in November 2019, Cast21’s vice president of engineering Veronica Hogg said:

“We have this radical notion that you can enjoy your healing experience. You don’t need to be restrained from daily activities.”

And with just a snip at the top, the cast frees up your arm, avoiding that less-than-fun moment of watching a doctor or nurse trying to buzzsaw it off without hitting your skin.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is it’s still not widely available and right now there’s only a model made for a medium-sized arm. But their goal is to create the device in many sizes as well as formulate a prototype for legs as well.

Even though this is a great idea, the company needs to prove that it’s useful and affordable to ensure they can sell them before they make them for the public.

“The idea is to prove that this technology works right now, we are past the prototype stage and have a fully functioning model in place for the forearm,” Hogg told The Daily Mail.

Once investors and clients are lined up we’ll find out how much it will cost the average patient. Currently, there is no price available, though Hogg says the company wants to make it as accessible as possible to as many people as possible.

“We don’t want this to be a luxury product. We are still conducting research in price sensitivity, and the final cost to the patients will be depending on their insurance and doctor,” Hogg said of the futuristic waterproof cast.

While some doctors in Europe are already using 3-D printed casts that have many of the same features, 3-D printing takes a long time and is notoriously expensive. A simple cast can cost hundreds of dollars and patients may have to wait days – or even weeks(!) – in order to receive theirs.

Meanwhile, the new Cast21 model will be very fast to measure and create.

Be sure to scroll down below to see how it works.

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Source: Cast21, The Daily Mail, @cast21official via Instagram