TITLE:
A Review of the Current Status of Bamboo Usage with Special Emphasis on Orthopedic Rehabilitation
AUTHORS:
Aruoture Egoh, Kischa S. Reed, Peter N. Kalu
KEYWORDS:
Bamboo, Orthopedic Device, Construction, Rehabilitation, Exoskeleton
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.11 No.7,
July
10,
2020
ABSTRACT: It was found that bamboo has been extensively used as infrastructure material in Asia and Africa due to its exceptional properties. Its usage has ranged from simple fence construction to bridges. Bamboo, as a biodegradable and renewable material, has been used for construction purposes. Both the natural and engineered form of the Bamboo has become a center of focus for most research scientists, materials experts and most important research and development aspects of Industries. The physical and mechanical properties of Bamboo culm in its dry and green state have shown promising prospects and this has further established the need to put together a regulatory body that will help to monitor and create standards for testing and utilizing Bamboo. This paper considered the various applications of Bamboo culm both in the past and present. An area the authors considered in this paper is the use of Bamboo in orthopedics. The number of people with gait dysfunction is fast growing due to population growth, war, ageing and accidents. The cost of orthopedic devices essential to restore function and improve quality of life is not affordable for many. Earlier research in this area suggests that bamboo is a suitable material for orthopedic appliances, especially exoskeleton. Bamboo use in applications such as orthopedic rehabilitation is common in developing countries where traditional bonesetters (TBS) use splints to treat fracture. In spite of the innovative discovery made by researchers in the use of Bamboo, standardization is a major challenge especially in orthopedic application. The focus of our work revealed varieties of Bamboo application.