A medical cast has been 3D printed to speed up the healing process of broken bones by up to 40 per cent.

The Osteoid cast uses a lattice pattern for comfort and to avoid smell or itching. It even uses an ultrasonic system that stimulates the bone to promote healing.

Turkish industrial designer Deniz Karasahin claims the cast only needs to be hooked up to the ultrasound pulse system, known as LIPUS, for 20-minutes a day to get results. The company claims it will "improve the overall healing experience for broken or fractured limbs by focusing on the patient’s comfort and the amount of time needed for the body to heal itself."

The cast also has the advantage of being 3D printed to fit the user perfectly after their arm is 3D scanned. The material it's printed from is environmentally friendly and is also water resistant.

While the cast is still at the design stage right now it is viable according to hand surgeon Dr. Michael Hausman. He says: "We know that ultrasound works. There is good evidence, presented most recently in two papers published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, the leading journal in orthopaedics."

While we'd love to see this in action we'll be keeping our bones unbroken for now and will just have to take the specialist's word for it that this will work.

3d printed osteoid cast could heal broken bones 40 per cent faster image 2