Patient-Specific Prosthetic Fingers by Remote Collaboration -- A Case Study
By Cabibihan, John-John; PLoS ONE, Vol. 6, No. 5Publication Date: May 2011
Paper presents a method for constructing a prosthetic finger through online collaboration with the designer. A case study is presented of a 48-year-old woman with an amputation of the ring finger on her non-dominant left hand at the proximal interphalangeal joint due to an accident. The main input from the amputee came from the Computer Tomography (CT) data in the region of the affected and the non-affected fingers. These data were sent over the Internet and the prosthesis was constructed using visualization, computer aided design, and manufacturing tools. The finished product was then shipped to the patient. The patient appreciated that the geometry of the prosthetic finger came directly from the details of her non-affected finger and reported satisfaction with the length, shape, and fit of the prosthesis. The proposed method has a potential to address the patient’s psychosocial concerns and circumvent the need for numerous clinical visits for measurements, fitting, and follow-up inherent in the traditional techniques of prosthesis fabrication.
Published by: Public Library of Science (Website:http://www.plos.org/)
Link to text: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0019508
