Orthopaedic splinting system

1 . A blank for an orthopedic splint in the form of a rectangular plate having a width of 10 to 500 mm, a length of 10 to 1000 mm and a thickness of 1.5 to 10 mm, comprising 30-90 parts by weight of a polycaprolactone homopolymer or a blend of polycaprolactone homopolymers having a molecular weight of approximately 80,000 to 200,000 g/mol and 70 to 10 parts by weight of wood granules having an average particle size of greater than 0.6 and up to 3.0 mm, said granules being distributed throughout the polycaprolactone homopolymer, said composite material being formable at a temperature of 50 to 70° C. and rigid at ambient temperature.

2 . A blank for an orthopedic splint in the form of a linear structure having a width, a length and a thickness, comprising a composite material with a first component formed by a polymer and a second component formed by a reinforcing material, wherein

the first component comprises a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group of biodegradable polymers and mixtures thereof, and

the second component comprises a woody material derived from platy or granular wood particles,

said composite material being formable at a temperature of about 50 to 120° C.

3 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the linear structure has the form of a plate, sheet, ribbon or tape, said platy wood particles preferably being orientated along an axis parallel with the length of the linear structure.

4 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the linear structure has the form of a rectangular plate having a thickness of approximately 1 to 50 mm.

5 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the woody material derived from the platy wood particles forms at least 10% of the total weight of the second component.

6 . The blank according to claim 2 , comprising;

5 to 99 parts by weight of a thermoplastic polymer component, and

1 to 95 parts by weight of a woody material, the weight of the woody material being calculated based on the dry weight of said wood material.

7 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the first component forms the matrix of the composite, and the microstructure of the second components is discontinuous.

8 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the thermoplastic polymer is selected from the group of epsilon-caprolactone homopolymers, blends of epsilon-caprolactone homopolymers and other biodegradable thermoplastic homopolymers, with 5-99 wt % of an epsilon-caprolactone homopolymer and 1-95 wt % of a biodegrable thermoplastic polymer, and copolymers of epsilon-caprolactone homopolymer and any thermoplastic biodegrable polymer, with 5 to 99 wt % of repeating units derived from epsilon-caprolactone and 1 to 95 wt % repeating units derived from other polymerizable material.

9 . The blank according to claim 2 , comprising a first polymer component having an average molecular weight of 60,000 to 500,000 g/mol.

10 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the density of the composition is at least 5% less than that of the epsilon-caprolactone homopolymer.

11 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the 3-point bending force of the composition is at least 5% better than that of the epsilon-caprolactone homopolymer as such.

12 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the Young's modulus values in 3-bending test of the composition is at least 10% higher than that of the epsilon-caprolactone homopolymer.

13 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the platy wood particles have an average size (of the smallest dimension) of at least 0.5 mm.

14 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the individual wood particles have at least two dimensions greater than 1 mm and one greater than 0.1, said wood particles having an average volume of at least 1 mm 3 .

15 . The blank according to claim 2 , further comprising a particulate material, a fibrous material or a combination thereof as a reinforcing component, said component forming approximately 1 to 15% of the weight of the second component.

16 . The blank according to claim 2 shaped, or capable of being shaped, into a finger splint, a wrist cast or a cast for an ankle, elbow, shoulder or knee by heating the material of the blank to a temperature in the range of 50 to 70° C. and by then cooling the material.

17 . The blank according to claim 2 capable of being combined with fabrics, non-wovens, paddings, pouches and fasteners forming an orthosis or protective padding such as shinpad.

18 . The blank according to claim 2 supplied in a sealed package.

19 . The blank according to claim 18 , wherein the package is provided with instructions for use.

20 . The blank according to claim 2 , wherein the composite material is rigid at a temperature of less than 50° C.

21 . A method of shaping a composite material to snugly fit against a part of the body of a mammal, comprising

providing the composite material in the form of an essentially rectangular, planar blank having a first component formed by a polymer and a second component formed by a reinforcing material, wherein

the first component comprises a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group of biodegradable polymers and mixtures thereof, and

the second component comprises a woody material derived from platy wood particles,

heating the blank to a temperature in the range of 50 to 70° C. to convert the material into a manually formable state,

applying the material against the target part of the body to as to make the material take up the form of the target part, and

cooling the material to a temperature of less than 45° C. to make the material rigid.

22 . The method according to claim 21 , wherein the blank is heated in a contact-type heater, non-contact heater, oven or IR heater.

23 . The method according to claim 21 , wherein the blank is cut into form before heating.

24 . The method according to claim 21 , wherein the blank is cooled actively with the help of a cold blanket, cold spray or by gentle air boost, or other method enhancing the heat transfer from the surface of the blank.

25 . A method for forming a removable exo-skeletal device on a portion of a body of a human or animal, the method comprising the steps of;

shaping a composite material to a desired linear form,

heating the linearly shaped composite material in a heating device to a temperature high enough to soften the composite material yet not so high as to be harmful to skin of the human or animal,

arranging the softened composite material on the desired portion of the body of the human or animal so that it conforms to the desired three-dimensional contoured exo-skeletal shape,

cooling the contoured exo-skeletal composite material to a temperature approximating the ambient temperature such that the contoured exo-skeletal composite material resumes the same rigidity as the shaped linear composite material prior to heating,

wherein the composite material is formed from a homogeneous mixture of a first and second component,

the first component comprising a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group of biodegradable polymers and mixtures thereof, and

the second component comprising a woody material, the majority of the woody material being made up of wood particles greater in size than powder.

26 . The method according to claim 25 , wherein the composite material is manufactured at a first point in time, the composite material is shaped to a desired linear form at a second point in time, and the linearly shaped heated composite material is contoured to the desired exo-skeletal shape at a third point in time, the second point in time being substantially closer to the first point in time than to the third point in time, such that the linear formation of the composite material is considered part of the manufacturing process of the composite material.

27 . The method according to claim 25 , wherein the composite material is shaped to a desired linear form during manufacture by a process selected from laser cutting, water cutting, mechanical cutting, stamping and extrusion.

28 . The method according to claim 25 , wherein the composite material is manufactured at a first point in time, the composite material is shaped to a desired linear form at a second point in time, and the linearly shaped heated composite material is applied to the desired exo-skeletal shape at a third point in time, the second point in time being substantially closer to the third point in time than to the first point in time, such that the linear formation of the composite material is considered part of the applying process of the composite material to the desired portion of the body.

29 . The method according to claim 28 , wherein the composite material is shaped to a desired linear form by manually cutting the composite material.

30 . The method according to claim 25 , comprising the additional step prior to cooling the heated composite material of,

securing the exo-skeletal device to the intended portion of the body by means of the adhesive properties of the heated composite material.

31 . The method according to claim 24 , wherein the cooling of the contoured exo-skeletal device is achieved by one or more of the following, allowing ambient conditions to lower the temperature of the device, spraying the device with a liquid or a gas at a temperature lower than the device, or placing a solid mass adjacent to the device which is at a lower temperature than the ambient temperature

32 . The method according to claim 25 , wherein said majority of wood particles greater in size than powder are granular or platy and make up more than 70% of the woody material, said woody material making up more than 70% of the second component.

33 . The method according to claim 25 , wherein said woody material is comprised substantially of granular particles having a cubic shape with dimensions greater than 0.6 mm and up to 3.0 mm.

34 . The method according to claim 25 , wherein the method is used for immobilizing the portion of the body.