Hand Splint Design Software

The clinical problem it solves

A thermoplastic splint is heated and shaped on the patient; the result depends on how fast the sheet cools, how much the patient tolerates at that moment and how hard the technician presses. Local pressure over bony prominences is one of the most common reasons a patient stops wearing a splint, and correcting it usually means reheating the sheet.

In the digital splint flow the geometry is scanned once, and pressure and relief decisions are made on screen rather than under a heat gun. When a second splint is needed from the same scan, the patient is not called back in.

From scan to splint

The forearm and hand are scanned with the wrist held at the intended angle. Once the model is imported, the clinician sets the coverage: two-thirds of the forearm proximally, the line where the metacarpal heads end distally, thumb left free.

Pressure and relief analysis follows. Relief zones are opened over bony prominences such as the radial and ulnar styloids, and the surfaces meant to carry load are marked. Edges are smoothed and a ventilation pattern and strap slots are added.

Clinician approval is a mandatory step before the form goes to production. Every change after approval is saved as a new version, so the file records which splint came from which version.

Measurements and output

The module derives forearm and hand circumferences, wrist angle and the surface area covered by the splint from the scan. Because these are written to the case file, reimbursement and reporting can use a recorded measurement instead of an estimate.

The output is an STL production file that goes to the clinic's 3D printer. For clinics keeping their thermoplastic bench, the module is positioned as a parallel line rather than a replacement; which case goes down which line is a clinical decision.

A revision does not call the patient back in: the pressure zone is widened on the same scan, the edge line is changed and a new file is exported. When acute oedema resolves, how far the second splint differs from the first also stays on record through version comparison.