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Using 3D Printing to Expand Access to Care for Thumb Arthritis
Thumb arthritis affects 1 in 4 older adults in Canada. Treatment can include a splint created by a hand therapist like Dr. Joy MacDermid, a physiotherapy professor at Western University and Lawson Research Institute scientist. But to increase access, she and her team are working on creating 3D-printed splints using handheld scanners for patients who can’t easily make it to specialty clinics like the one at St. Joseph’s Healthcare London.
Dr. Louis Ferreira led the engineering side of the project, and one of the key challenges was creating a splint in the treatment position, when the scan may not be of the hand in that position.
