Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute

Jan 8, 2019

Jan 8, 2019 | By Thomas ActivArmor, a Colorado based company specializing in custom-fit 3D printed casts and splints is partnering with Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute, official Sport Medicine Provider for teams like the Armada, the Blue Wave, JU, the Jaguars, and the Sharks, to bring its novel medical casts and splints to the Jacksonville region. Under the agreement, Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute will make ActivArmor’s 3D printed waterproof medical casts available as an option for its patients, including its client base of professional athletes. ActivArmor's breathable and water-resistant casts are developed and personalized using 3D scanning and printing technology. Each ActivArmor device is made from a high-temperature thermosetting plastic, which gives medical professionals and patients a huge amount of freedom when compared to traditional casts. Doctors can, for example, free up or immobilize certain target areas of the body part, while the device can also be made removable thanks to a patent-pending closing mechanism. Importantly, the devices have already been registered with the FDA, and are covered by most insurance providers. ActivArmor was born from the idea of founder and CEO, Diana Hall. Hall, a chemical engineer, was inspired to transform the world of casting and support devices through an outreach program she was running. While running the program she encountered many children who had splints and casts – many of these children struggled to keep the medical supports clean and dry. As Hall went on a quest to reform traditional casting and splinting methods, ActivArmor was born. The company unveiled the first ActivArmor prototype at one of Pueblo’s annual Shark Tank-style entrepreneurship competitions and received a $250,000 state grant to further its work in 2017. With years of field-testing completed on the high-tech waterproof, hygienic, breathable cast/splinting alternative, the startup company is growing nation-wide, and now expanding to the north Atlantic coast. “JOI’s expertise in sports medicine makes them an ideal provider of this next-gen product,” Diana Hall, founder of ActivArmor, said in a statement announcing the partnership with Jacksonville Orthopaedics. “Being right on the field with their patients, they are able to see the benefits of our hygienic, waterproof orthoses first-hand, and provide their patients with the latest in custom care solutions to improve healing outcomes and quality of life, both on and off the field.” “The benefits for athletes to be able to sweat, shower, ice and train while being immobilized are obvious, and we are happy to partner with ActivArmor to provide this innovative product to the First Coast and surrounding areas,” said Dr. Kevin Kaplan, the team physician for the Jaquars and one of the clinic’s 38 doctors.