Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff Lauren boglebam here. In two thousand nine, a sea turtle suffered damage to her shell after being struck by a boat. The turtle, now known as Seymour spelled s e E m O r E, was sent to live out her life at Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium from a turtle hospital in Florida, but her injury caused what's been called positive buoyancy disorder, or more colloquially bubble butt syndrome, which traps air between her body and shell. It made
it hard for her to dive, float, and swim. Enter the genius team of undergrads from University of Minnesota who printed a three D prosthesis called an exo shell to correct Seymour's buoyancy problem. Today, Seymour swims with her two pound backpack that's a little under a kilo, just like a regular sea turtle. Seymour's story is thanks to the miracle of three D printing, and it's becoming more common in veterinary medicine to repair injuries to animals, both domesticated
and wild. These days, veterinarians and wildlife conservationists are Following the lead of physicians treating human patients by using three D printing to create prostheses for injuries to limbs, fins, beaks, bones, and yes shells. This technology is being used to create everything from prosthetic legs for kittens and puppies to replacement beaks for two cans, and while off the shelf, implants
and prostheses are available and can be adapted. Often it's just as simple to create a custom made three D implant part or prosthesis. Just as in human medicine, veterinarians use technology like CT scans and mri I to create images of an animal's body. The scans provide physicians and conservationists with a three D image of what the damaged part looks like an exact representation of what the new part needs to look like. Three D printing is used
for prototyping the damaged part and the replacement. The image creates a app that's uploaded into the computer controlling the printer. Following the map, the printer puts down layer after layer of material until the new part is formed. A variety of materials can be used for three D printing, including different types of plastics, ceramic, metals and even living cells. But just because an animal might seem like a potential candidate for a pros thesis doesn't mean it will get one.
For example, size does matter. Very large or very small dogs are more difficult to fit. The residual limb also has to be healthy. The animals shouldn't have any issues with gait or range of motion, and animals with prostheses have to go through rehab just like their human counterparts, so they can build up their strength and learn how to use their new limb properly. Today's episode was written
by Patty res Mussin and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this amounts of other individualized topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And for more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit thy heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H