Temporary cast devices comprising artificial muscles

A temporary cast comprising:

• an exterior shell;
• and
• a lining body, wherein:
• the lining body is removably coupled to the exterior shell;
• and
• the lining body further comprises:
• an inner layer and an outer layer;
• one or more pressure sensors communicatively coupled to a controller;
• and
• a plurality of stacks, each stack of the plurality of stacks comprising a plurality of artificial muscles communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein:
• each of the plurality of artificial muscles comprises:
• a housing comprising an electrode region and an expandable fluid region;
• a dielectric fluid housed within the housing;
• an electrode pair positioned in the electrode region of the housing, the electrode pair comprising a first electrode fixed to a first surface of the housing and a second electrode fixed to a second surface of the housing, the first electrode and the second electrode each comprising two or more tab portions and two or more bridge portions, each of the two or more bridge portions interconnecting adjacent tab portions of the two or more tab portions, at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode comprising a central opening positioned between the two or more tab portions and encircling the expandable fluid region wherein the electrode pair is actuatable between a non-actuated state and an actuated state such that actuation from the non-actuated state to the actuated state directs the dielectric fluid into the expandable fluid region, expanding the expandable fluid region.

A method for actuating a temporary cast, the method comprising:

• generating a voltage using a power supply electrically coupled to an electrode pair of an artificial muscle, the artificial muscle disposed in a cavity between an inner layer and an outer layer of a lining body, wherein:
• the artificial muscle comprises a housing having an electrode region and an expandable fluid region;
• the electrode pair is positioned in the electrode region of the housing;
• the electrode pair comprises a first electrode fixed to a first surface of the housing and a second electrode fixed to a second surface of the housing, the first electrode and the second electrode each comprising two or more tab portions and two or more bridge portions, each of the two or more bridge portions interconnecting adjacent tab portions of the two or more tab portions, and at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode comprising a central opening positioned between the two or more tab portions and encircling the expandable fluid region;
• and
• a dielectric fluid is housed within the housing;
• and
• applying the voltage to the electrode pair of the artificial muscle, thereby actuating the electrode pair from a non-actuated state to an actuated state such that the dielectric fluid is directed into the expandable fluid region of the housing and expands the expandable fluid region, thereby applying pressure to the inner layer of the lining body.