How 3-D Printing Played a Role in the Super Bowl

In case you missed it, last month's Super Bowl 50 marked the first time an NFL player wore a 3-D printed medical device at the game.

Qmed Staff

The Carolina Panthers may have fallen to the Denver Bronco's in last month's Super Bowl 50. But Panthers Thomas Davis was still connected to a "first": the first time a football player has worn a 3-D printed medical device during a football game.

Qmed's sister UBM media outlet Plastics Today explains how a Davis' right forearm, broken in the NFC championship game, was held together a metal plate held together with 12 screws. If Davis was to play, he needed something to shield his arm from the 1600-lb impact force of a tackle. 

The solution came from Whiteclouds, a 3D-printing lab headquartered in Ogden, UT. Whiteclouds scanned Davis' arm, using its XRD technology to design a 3D-printed shock-absorbing brace made out of a blend of plastic and rubber-like materials. 

Read to full Plastics Today story.

Chris Newmarker is senior editor of Qmed and MPMN. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our daily e-newsletter.