First Aid News - April 2007

New Flexible Splint Developed in UK/French Alliance
A new type of splint has been developed which is predicted to be of great use to the thousands of winter sports victims.

People who suffer fractures in remote locations generally have to wait some time to be rescued. Around 45,000 similar injuries happen annually. Now, the new splint can be applied to immobilise the bone/joint and to assist handling of the patient in difficult terrain.

A chemically reactive strip and a sodium acetate solution provide warmth and rigidity to the area of the injury. The product was jointly developed by Sheffield Hallam University and the Institut Superieur de Plasturgie d'Alencon in France.

This product was an entry in the Design and Innovation in Plasturgy competition and was the grand prize winner for this year's event.