Besides wearing a helmet and protective pads and knowing what you’re doing, there aren’t many ways to make skateboarding a safer sport. It’s inherently dangerous to careen around on a little plank with wheels stuck to the bottom. But inventor Jorge Arjona has come up with a device that could eliminate one of the more serious dangers skateboarders face: rocks.

The Rockochet is a clever little plastic piece that fits on your board’s trunk. It’s kind of like the “cowcatcher” on the front of trains that moves debris out of the way so the junk won’t derail the train. But in this case, the train is a skateboard and the derailing debris is the rocks that can stop a wheel and send the rider hurtling into the air.

While skateboarding is a legitimate (and eco-friendly!) form of transportation, Arjona realized that a lot of skaters also like to do tricks. The Rockochet is lightweight and flexible enough that it won’t interfere with most of those tricks. Experienced skaters say it’s a great way to help beginners build their confidence on a board without worrying about the possibility of a rock wiping them out.

The Rockochet was up for funding on Kickstarter but missed its goal before the funding period was up. We don’t know what will happen to the product in the future, but on behalf of skaters and their worried parents everywhere we seriously hope this product makes it to market soon.

The post Safer Skating: Rock Deflector Keeps Skateboarders Upright first appeared on Gajitz.

Spinal cord regeneration was once an impossible dream for doctors and patients. Once a spinal cord injury rendered a patient paralyzed, there was nothing that could be done to repair the damage. A groundbreaking new treatment, however, has given the medical community new hope. The lucky recipient of the world’s first application of this treatment was Darek Fidyka, a Polish man who was paralyzed after being stabbed in the back in 2010. Researchers from the UK and Poland worked together to test the idea that olfactory bulbs – small structures in your brain that control your sense of smell – could help to regenerate cells in the spinal cord.

(image via: BBC News)

The team looked to cells from the olfactory bulb because olfactory nerves are the only part of the nervous system known to regenerate following an injury. The researchers removed one of Mr. Fidyka’s olfactory bulbs and grew cells from it – cells which were then injected at the injury site. Strips of nerve tissue from the patient’s ankle were placed on the gap in his spinal cord in the hopes that the injected cells would encourage regrowth. This method was tested successfully on dogs in 2012, but Mr. Fidyka was the first human patient.

After intensive physical therapy and some healing time, he has regained some sensation in his lower body. The most amazing result of the surgery, however, is that he is now able to walk with a walker just two years post-surgery. The research team is cautiously optimistic about the treatment, stating that they need to try the treatment in a larger number of patients with similar injuries before concluding that this is the answer for spinal cord repair. They also want to find a way to extract the needed cells in a less invasive manner than the brain surgery Mr. Fidyka had to undergo. In a stroke of luck, the patient has even retained his sense of smell even after having one olfactory bulb removed. The findings were published in the journal Cell Transplantation.

The post Smell of Victory: Paralyzed Man Walks After Nose Cell Graft first appeared on Gajitz.

The design of standard crutches has remained more or less the same since their invention: you put some sticks under your arms and use them to support your body weight instead of putting the weight on your injured leg. Industrial design student Behzad Rashidi studied this outdated century-old design and came up with a brilliant new idea.

The Sit & Stand Walking Assistant is a smart, hands-free alternative to crutches that uses a wearer’s thigh rather than arms to support the injured leg.

The leg with the injury is strapped to the Sit & Stand at the ankle. At the top of the Sit & Stand is a small platform that supports the upper thigh. Another strap holds the thigh in place.

As the user walks, their weight is supported on the little platform. This takes the pressure off of the injured lower leg and lets the wearer walk freely without using his or her arms.

When the wearer gets tired – which is bound to happen when using an assistive device to walk – the Sit & Stand lets them simply lean back onto the platform to rest.

Since the Sit & Stand uses the healthy part of the injured leg to support the user’s weight, the hands are free to carry objects, open doors, and do all of the things that traditional crutches make nearly impossible.

The post Crutch Alternative Supports Injured Leg, Leaves Hands Free first appeared on Gajitz.

Way back in grade school, breaking your arm was kind of awesome because you got to wear a cast that everyone signed. Once you grow up, though, wearing a cast is a lot less desirable. Turkish industrial designer Deniz Karasahin has invented a 3D printed cast that uses ultrasound to heal bones quicker than a traditional cast.

The Osteoid cast kind of looks like a fashion accessory. Its multiple cutouts resemble a carefully-crafted design, but they are actually ventilation holes that keep away the itchy, musty, stinky sensations of plaster casts. It’s hooked up to low-intensity ultrasound for 20 minutes a day, which the designer says can decrease the healing time significantly.

The healing process can be reduced by up to 38% for certain fractures and up to 80% for others. FastCo talked to Dr. Michael Hausman, a hand surgeon at Mt. Sinai Hospital, about the technology. He is optimistic and confirms that ultrasound has been proven to reduce healing times. He even agrees that the design is far more attractive than traditional casts. The only hurdle that he can see – and one that is sure to weigh on plenty of other minds – is whether the next-generation cast will be affordable.

The post 3D Printed Ultrasound Cast Doubles as a Fashion Statement first appeared on Gajitz.

Wheelchair extreme sports are an awesome way for paraplegics to stay active and have fun, but like any extreme sport there is an element of danger involved. Since many people in wheelchairs experience partial or total loss of feeling in their lower extremities, it is sometimes difficult for them to tell when they’ve sustained an injury. An untreated injury could lead to serious complications down the line.

The Bruise suit, created by Dan Garrett, Elena Dieckmann, Ming Kong & Lucy Jung, is a smart way to ensure that wheelchair athletes don’t suffer injuries that go unnoticed. Bruise is a pair of high-waisted pants that use technology to show just where an injury occurred and how severe it may be.

The stretchy, breathable material allows athletes the freedom of movement needed to play extreme sports. But if they should happen to fall or sustain a hard hit, the Bruise will indicate if an injury occurred and how serious it might be. The suit does this with several pieces of pressure-sensitive film located in the areas of the body most likely to sustain injuries.

If an area is stressed due to impact, that spot changes color to indicate a possible injury. The color is deeper for more serious impacts, so an athlete can know if they need immediate medical attention or if they can keep playing and just get bandaged up later. The pressure-sensitive film pieces are replaceable and recyclable, so a fresh set can be inserted before the next game.

The post Color-Changing Pants Display Paraplegic Athletes’ Injuries first appeared on Gajitz.