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Bracing Plastic

A company better known for its plastic toy blocks has won a top award for producing a special, lightweight orthopaedic leg brace to help mend broken bones. Made almost entirely of plastic components, the leg brace is regarded as an innovation in orthopaedic medicine, winning for Auckland-based Alfred Holt & Company the coveted Supreme Award in the Plastics Institute of New Zealand biennial awards.

Following on more than two years of development work, the leg brace is being produced for orthopaedic products specialist company Bodyworks Healthcare Ltd, which has scored a number of export orders based on the device's clever design, low cost and ability to keep people with broken bones actively on their feet. The leg brace has achieved a first anywhere in the world with the use of plastic components in hinge mechanisms. Similar leg braces are usually constructed from expensive metals, such as titanium.

One of the keys to achieving success, says Philip Williams of Alfred Holt & Company, was in selecting the right plastic compound with long-term performance.

"We originally selected a type of nylon for the components, but research showed that we needed a space-age, super-strong material to overcome the punishment received from the patients, particularly those weighing over 100kg."

An advanced composite called Grivory, which incorporates glass fibre into the nylon, was found to be the only plastic-based material that could meet the performance demands. Significant development work went into the design to ensure that it not only assisted the leg to move freely, whilst providing a firm setting to mend broken bones, but that it also looked good.

Philip Williams, of Alfred Holt & Company, with the award-winning leg brace.