How technology helps injured animals get on their feet
Careless, and sometimes frankly cruel the treatment of animals is a problem of modern society, which from year to year does not lose its relevance. The more often you need to talk about it and the louder to talk about people who are ready to help crippled pets and wildlife inhabitants. In recent years, with the development of technology, more and more new opportunities to help animals appear, and the leading experts in the field of neurosurgery, orthopedics and prosthetics are ready to search for non-standard solutions and put beasts on their feet - simply because who else, if not us?
Cleopatra's Tortoise Shell
A veteran of the United States Air Force and a student at the Technical University of Colorado Roger Henry spent hundreds of hours building a perfect protective shell for a leopard tortoise named Cleopatra. An incorrectly fed animal is a common mistake of the owners of turtles, who often believe that they do not require any special care. According to Niko Novelli, the founder of the Canyon Critters reptilian center, the herbivore Cleopatra's diet was poor and oversaturated with squirrels, and because of this, her shell thinned and became covered with growths in the form of pyramids. In this state, she could not socialize: during the games, turtles often piled on top of each other, but Cleopatra's fragile shell is easily damaged, which in turn can lead to infection of internal organs. Worse, the deformed form of the shell made it impossible for Cleopatra to stand up on her own feet in cases where the tortoise collapsed onto her back.
The removable carapace for Cleopatra was printed on a polylactide 3D printer - a biodegradable, biocompatible polymer, after simulating an exact three-dimensional model that would ensure that the prosthesis sits on it like a glove. And he sat down. Moreover, Cleopatra will not have to walk in a protective armor all her life: there is hope that with time, with proper nutrition and under the supervision of specialists, her own tortoise shell will recover. And this is good news, considering that the age of leopard turtles reaches 75 years.
Paws for a duckling of the Buttercup
Dracula Buttercup from Texas was born with a left foot, turned in the opposite direction, which obviously complicated his life. In 2013, Buttercup was sheltered in Arlington at the "Feathered Angels" shelter for abandoned geese and ducks, and the paw, following the recommendations of the veterinarians, had to be removed. Then the founder of the orphanage, Mike Gary, turned to NovaCopy, a 3D printing company, and asked them to make a prosthesis for a drake. For the sample, experts took a scan of the left leg of Minnie's duck, a friend of the Buttercup. Since then, drake cheerfully runs on two legs, has got its own Facebook page, has become an American television star and a symbol of "Feathered Angels". Buttercup has already replaced several prostheses (including having gotten a separate one for swimming): all are printed on a 3D printer, and each one is more perfect than the previous one, the last one is flexible and with a special support spring.
Fins for the sea turtle Khufesh
Green sea turtles are included in the list of endangered species, one of them - a male named Khufesh - in 2009, was entangled in fishing nets off the coast of Israel. The turtle was rescued, but the animal lost two left flippers: due to injury, Khufesh could no longer swim and float to the surface exactly when it was needed, all the time fell on his side, began to panic and once almost drowned. A young industrial designer Shlomi Gez came to the aid of the turtle. First, he designed a prosthesis in the form of a dorsal fin for Khufesh, like in fish, which improved the situation, but did not completely solve the problem. Then Gez improved his invention, based on the design of the F-22 Raptor fighter - the fins of the new prosthesis repeated the shape and position of the wings of the aircraft. In general, despite the fact that the Khufesh cannot return to its natural habitat, it now swims freely in the aquarium of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center.
Tail for dolphin winter
Delphine Winter will be ten years old in October, most of which she lived in the marine aquarium of the Florida city of Clearwater. Winter is a real star, although she gained this status because of her unhappiness. To date, two full-length films with Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd have been shot in the lead roles, several books have been written and there is even a game for Nintendo. When the bottlenose dolphin was only three months old, she got entangled in a crab trap so much that after the rescue, the veterinarians had no choice but to remove her tail. Subsequently, Winter was able to swim without him, but instead of the movements characteristic of a dolphin, her body acted up and down like a fish, waving her body from side to side.
To normalize the situation, the specialists of the marine aquarium turned to the famous Irish prosthetist and scientist Kevin Carroll, who had previously developed prostheses for ducks, ostriches and dogs. It took a year and a half to invent and test the artificial tail for Winter, it was made from simple materials: plastic and silicone. A separate gel-like sleeve, which protects the sensitive skin of the bottlenose dolphin from rubbing it with a prosthesis, has become a separate element of the prosthesis. By the way, this sleeve Carroll later began to use and work with customers, people.
Tail for Mr. Stubbs alligator
The story of the bottlenose dolphin Winter inspired not only cinematographers: thanks to her example, the 11-year-old alligator Mr. Stubbs also acquired an artificial tail - he lost his own in a fight with another alligator. In 2005, Stubbs and more than 30 of his relatives rescued the smugglers from the hands and settled in Phoenix Herpetological Society. Only eight years later, a group of local scientists and orthopedists set about developing a prosthesis for Mr. Stubbs. Without a tail, the alligator is nowhere — it is usually half the length of the whole body, helping to swim and regulate heat transfer in dry weather. As a result, after careful measurements and painstaking adjustments, the initiative group managed to construct a rubber prosthetic tail that is attached to the body of the alligator using nylon belts. True, given that Mr. Stubbs is still growing (and alligators have been living for more than 70 years), over time, the prosthesis will have to be renewed and increased in length.
Front paws for dog derby
The history of Derby circled the Internet at the end of last year. The dog was born with underdeveloped front paws, and he was looking for owners for a long time. A picture of Derby was seen by an employee of an American 3D Systems company specializing in 3D printing. "Every time I looked at his photo and read his story, I sobbed," says Anderson, eventually she attracted an orthopedist and colleagues from work, who jointly developed prostheses for the dog's front paws. Both are printed on a 3D printer, designed to meet the needs of the Derby and have an unusual shape so that the dog is not stuck with them in the dirt. In the very first minute, as the dog was wearing prostheses, Derby ran and since then has been running five kilometers with his new owner every day.
Unlike Derby, a Rottweiler named Brutus only learns to run on new paws. The dog froze all four limbs at a puppy age and was left to the mercy of the breeder. New mistress found Brutus in the parking lot of the supermarket, later she collected through the fundraising website 12 thousand dollars, which was enough for an operation for a rottweiler and four leg prostheses of a new generation. Unfortunately, not all dogs get used to such prostheses, but so far Brutus is doing well.
Beak for bald eagle Beauty
For the life of the Orlaniha Beauty, which the poacher had shot off the beak, a whole team of specialists was beating, but this would have never happened if it had not been for the stubbornness of the biologist Jane Weltkamp. The founder of the Birds of Prey Northwest nursery of birds of prey fed the dying bird and refused to put it to sleep without trying all the help options. Dentists, scientists and engineers worked on the creation of an artificial beak for Beauty, and the process of fitting, fitting and final installation of the prosthesis printed on a 3D printer took about two hours. All this was worth it: with the new beak, the Orlanikha was again able to independently eat, drink and clean the feathers. By the way, a few years ago a stork in Hungary helped the broken beak against the wall, and in February a new beak toucan was printed on a 3D printer in Costa Rica, which was offended by children.
Hind legs for Oscar cat
Oscar’s cat has its own YouTube channel with a loud but self-justifying name “Bionic Cat”. This is apart from the fact that a book was written about his fate, and the operation that Oscar survived was included in the annals of modern prosthetics. Six years ago, the cat fell under a combine harvester and lost its hind legs. Miraculously, the rescued animal was taken to treat the famous Irish veterinary neurosurgeon orthopedic surgeon Noel Fitzpatrick. With the participation of scientists from University College London, he performed an experimental operation for Oscar: the cat was installed specially designed prostheses for him, which were connected directly to the ram’s bones. Subsequently, with the help of medical treatment, the doctors achieved that bone and skin grew around the prostheses. This work by Fitzpatrick later formed the basis of two documentary series, "The Bionic Vet" and "The Supervet", coming out on the British Channel 4 and BBC One. But this is not the main thing - Oscar's experience is already being rethought for treating people, in particular, a similar prosthesis was developed for a woman who lost her arm during the terrorist attack in London in July 2005.
Foot for elephant Moshi
Elephant Mosha has been living in the national reserve of Thailand Mei-Yao since 2006, where she hit, having blown up on a mine and having lost her right foreleg. Then, almost ten years ago, Moshe created the first limb prosthesis designed specifically for an elephant. Elephants are large animals and carry most of their body weight on their front legs, so Moshi’s growing body required that as an adult grows, elephants also change prostheses. In early March, she just received a new, more modern version - from steel, wood and plastic.
Eye for sea bass
Groupers - long-lived fish, representatives of certain species reach the age of 100 years. Unfortunately, the life of the yellowtail perch from the Vancouver Aquarium a few years ago turned into hell. Because of the cataract, his left eye was removed, and other fish began to offend the perch: they attacked it from the left, blind side and in the end were so intimidated that it huddled to the bottom of a large aquarium and stopped swimming out. Local veterinarians understood that there were not too many options for helping perch and, most likely, it could be put to sleep. Before finally giving up, the aquarium team decided to take a risky step - to make a prosthetic eye for a perch. Chief veterinarian Martin Holina contacted colleagues from Seattle, who in recent years have just been working on a new method of implanting artificial eyes in fish. At the end of November 2014, yellowtail perch underwent an operation: under anesthesia, a prosthesis was implanted into the fish, securing it in the eye socket using nylon threads and titanium staples. The perch moved the procedure well, and the neighbors in the aquarium stopped poisoning it.