Green sea turtle gets relief from bubble butt syndrome thanks to 3D printing

The two main reasons these gas bags occur in turtles are plastic and boat strikes.

When a turtle eats something it can't digest – like parts of fishing nets, plastic bottles, or even rubber gloves (yes, a sea turtle has been found with a rubber glove in its intestines) – it sometimes gets stuck somewhere in its gastrointestinal tract. to sit. channel. This in turn causes gases to collect there, causing the turtle's buoyancy to become unbalanced.

These gases usually collect in the parts of the gastrointestinal tract located at the back of the turtle, causing the animal to float with its buttocks at an unnatural angle. Such conditions are sometimes curable with dietary modifications, assisted feeding, fluid therapy, and other non-invasive means, to the point where affected animals can be safely released back into the wild. Collisions with boats, on the other hand, often lead to permanent damage.

Sea turtle shells are strong, but not strong enough to withstand a collision with a boat, especially when the shell is struck by a propeller blade. This often leaves a shell deformed, with air bubbles underneath. In more severe cases, the spinal cord beneath the shell is also damaged, leading to complete or partial paralysis.”

The most popular approach to rehabilitating these injuries involves gluing Velcro patches to the shell in carefully chosen areas and attaching weights to those patches to counteract the buoyancy caused by the air bubbles. This is quite a labor-intensive task that will need to be performed repeatedly every few months for the rest of the turtle's life. And green sea turtles can live up to 80 years.

Leveraging advanced manufacturing

As a victim of a boat strike with air bubbles trapped beneath the deformed shell, Charlotte was deemed unreleasable and completely dependent on human care. Because complete recovery was not an option, Mystic Aquarium wanted to make daily functioning more bearable for both the turtle and its caretakers. It came into contact with Adia, who in turn got New Balance and Formlabs on board. Their idea was to eliminate the Velcro and replace it with a harness with slots for weights.