Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has teamed up with the Digital Media Lab at UC San Diego\u2019s Geisel Library to create what is believed to be the first 3-D-printed brace for a sea turtle\u2019s shell.
\nThe loggerhead sea turtle was rescued from a New Jersey power plant in 2013\u00a0with a large gap in the bottom right part of her shell. This gap, along with an abnormal curve of her spine and paralysis of her back flippers, is likely due to trauma experienced in the wild before she was rescued.
\nWhen she arrived at Birch Aquarium in 2014, the juvenile loggerhead sea turtle weighed just 74.5 pounds. She has since thrived, gaining more than 130 pounds.
\n“That growth has really exacerbated her condition. Without our intervention, the sea turtle could have gastrointestinal and urogenital systems complications,” said Jenn Nero Moffatt, senior director of animal care, science and conservation for the aquarium. “We teamed up with the Digital Media Lab at Geisel Library to create a brace that will prevent the shell from curving further downward and will promote more normal growth. It\u2019s our goal to prevent further complications and keep her as healthy and happy as possible.”
\nThe juvenile female loggerhead sea turtle was CT scanned at UC San Diego\u2019s Thornton Hospital two times since her arrival to monitor the changes in her shell. Using a combination of the CT scans and their own 3-D scanning techniques, the team was able to design and fit a brace that is a perfect fit to her shell, so it will not encumber the sea turtle.
\n“It’s amazing that our library can now provide these kinds of services. 3-D technology is getting so powerful and accessible, the possibilities seem endless,” said Scott McAvoy, Digital Media Lab manager and manager at the UC San Diego Library.
\nThe brace is made of a rigid white plastic that was 3-D printed to fit the turtle\u2019s shell precisely. \u00a0There is a ratcheting plastic cable that attaches to two fasteners to provide strength, support, and pressure as needed to allow flexibility as she grows. \u00a0A velcro neoprene weight pocket is also attached, separately, to help provide neutral buoyancy while she rests. All of the equipment used was adhered with a safe, two-part marine epoxy. \u00a0The sea turtle, which could grow to as much as 250 pounds \u2014\u00a0 will eventually outgrow the brace and have to be fit for a new one.
\n“This is truly an ocean rehabilitation success story,” said Moffatt. “As a member of the AZA, Birch Aquarium is committed to conserving, rehabilitating and protecting animals in threat of extinction. \u00a0It\u2019s exciting that we are able to use technology in this unique way so our loggerhead sea turtle can continue her role as ambassador for ocean conservation, greeting more than 450,000 visitors each year.” \u00a0
\nThe loggerhead sea turtle lives in Birch Aquarium\u2019s\u00a0Hall of Fishes\u2019 Magdalena Bay\u00a0habitat. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:30 p.m., visitors can see the animal training and feedings required to help with her ongoing health care. For more information, visit\u00a0aquarium.ucsd.edu\u00a0or call 858-534-FISH.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has teamed up with the Digital Media Lab at UC San Diego\u2019s Geisel Library to create what is believed to be the first 3-D-printed brace for a sea turtle\u2019s shell. The loggerhead sea turtle was rescued from a New Jersey power plant in 2013\u00a0with […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":270640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11560","_seopress_titles_title":"Brace yourself: 3-D technology helps sea turtle thrive","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11560,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-la-jolla-village-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}