Orthopedics: Blowing Up a Splint

Every kid who has ever puffed out his cheeks blowing up a sausage-shaped toy balloon has marveled that anything as immaterial as air can make the thin rubber so rigid and strong. This week the Bauer & Black division of Boston’s Kendall Co. is putting on the general market an inflatable splint based on the same simple principle, but made of heavy, transparent plastic.

Called the Curity Immobil-Air bandage, the device actually consists of two tubes, one inside the other. When it is pulled over a broken or badly burned limb, the inner tube fits loosely. Then, as a first-aider blows into the outer tube, air pressure forces the inner tube tight against the limb and extends it straight. The pneumatic splint prevents further damage from broken bone ends until the victim gets to a hospital. In burns, it prevents the seepage of body fluids—a major cause of burn “shock.” And the pressure of the inner tube on the limb, whether broken or burned, prevents further bleeding.

Sterilized before it is packaged, the inflatable splint has been widely tested in hospitals (which pay $6.90 for the arm size, $8.10 for the leg size). Orthopedists have found it useful for immobilizing limbs after surgery, before they put on a plaster cast.