After fracturing his arm during the NFC title game nearly two weeks ago, Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis immediately vowed that he'll be able to play in Super Bowl 50 this Sunday.
The question is, how would he make good on that promise fresh off having surgery? A broken right forearm doesn't exactly lend to a linebacker's tackling abilities. That and one would think that he could become a liability on the Panthers' defensive side of the ball against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.
Well, it turns out that Davis will play in the big game and he's getting a big boost from technology to make sure of that.
CNET is reporting that Davis will be wearing a special 3D-printed, shock-absorbing brace to protect his surgically repaired arm, which is being held together by a metal plate and 12 screws.
The brace was produced by a 3D printing company called Whiteclouds, which scanned Davis' arm to develop the shock-absorbing brace that is made from a mix of plastic and rubber-like materials, according to the website. The brace is perforated to let Davis roam the field with freedom without it slowing him down. In total, it took 30 hours to print on the company's Stratasys Connex machine.
Still, even 3D-printing experts in the space are impressed with Davis' determination and guts.
"Thomas Davis is already the 'bionic man' in our book," Scott Perone, of 3D Elite, a manufacturer that collaborated with Whiteclouds on the project, said in a press release statement, as reported by CNET. "This personalized 3D brace lined with Poron XRD makes him a bit more indestructible."
Let's see how Davis and the Panthers do Sunday night.
