emergency adventure splint

The brief of this project was to apply a traditional handicraft technique to a modern commercial product. The ‘emergency adventure splint’ uses a traditional scandanavian weaving technique, sprang, to create a UV resin soaked stocking that can be applied to sprained/broken limbs in an emergency situation to temporariy imobilize the injury.

‘sprang’

Sprang is an ancient Scandinavian method of constructing fabric that has a natural elasticity. Its appearance is similar to netting, but unlike netting, sprang is constructed entirely from warp threads.

craft experimentation & applications

stretching over complex form

Due to the properties of sprang, it easily hugs almost any form, even highly varied and organic surfaces. Most textiles struggle to stretch in multiple planes though sprang seems infinite in its possibilities.
soaking sprang sample in glue+hardening over form

Sprang is naturally elastic and thus can be easily stretched over forms. This experiment proved the effectiveness of anchoring the sample at the corners.
hardened sprang sample(glue)

Once dry, the sample was quite rigid and held its shape nicely. It was quite beautiful seeing the sprang pattern stretched out as it tends to rest in a more collapsed form.
curing yarn soaked in UV resin

Instead of glue, UV resin was soaked into a sprang form and stretched over a cup. UV resin is much stronger than whie craft glue. Sample was then left to cure for 10 minutes.
cured resin soaked sample

The UV resin sample held its shape incredibly well and was incredibly rigid.
experiment application ideation

Because of sprang’s incredible ability to stretch around complex organic and varied shaped there seems to be a potential for an opportunity in limb casting.

emergency field injury imobilization

First aid kits marketed toward outdoor adventuring tend to only include compression bandages to immobilize fractures/sprains.

Splints and casting materials are bulky and heavy so they are unlikely to be included in medical aid kits.

Often in the field, items such as ski sticks are used to create makeshift splits which are heavy and poorly suited to the human body.

opportunity

prototype construction

setting up loom

Approximately twice as long as forearm so it can be folded in half and sewn into a stocking
weaving

1-1 sprang pattern
sewn sides

The sample is folded in half and sewn up the sides to create a stocking.
fits on different body parts!

Sprang is highly adaptable.
soaking in resin
slipping over fingers
pulling sleeve down
trimming+30min outdoor cure