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A laser-aligned method for anthropometry of hands.

John Highton¹, Peter Davidson, Valerie Markham

¹Medicine Section, Medical and Surgical Science, Dunedin School of Medicine, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Journal of Biomechanics

|August 2, 2003

Summary

A new laser-aligned device simplifies hand anthropometry for arthritis patients, accurately measuring hand deformities. This portable tool offers a clinical alternative for tracking disease progression.

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Area of Science:

Orthopedics
Medical Devices
Biomedical Engineering

Background:

Accurate anthropometry of hand dimensions is crucial for assessing conditions like arthritis.
Existing methods for hand measurement (rules, tapes, photogrammetry) have limitations in clinical settings.
There is a need for a simple, portable, and clinically applicable device for hand anthropometry.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and evaluate a laser-aligned measuring device for linear hand dimensions.
To provide a simple and clinically applicable tool for anthropometry in arthritis patients.
To assess the device's accuracy and utility in measuring hand deformities and progression.

Main Methods:

Development of a novel laser-aligned measuring device.

Related Experiment Videos

Utilizing laser pointers for precise alignment, especially for identifying the highest point of the hand.

Clinical application for measuring hand dimensions in both normal subjects and patients with arthritis.

Main Results:

The laser-aligned device provides measurements comparable in accuracy to traditional methods like rules and calipers.
The system demonstrated no significant difference in results compared to established measurement techniques.
The device proved portable and simple to use in a clinical environment.

Conclusions:

The laser-aligned measuring device is a viable, accurate, and user-friendly tool for hand anthropometry.
It offers a practical alternative for clinicians, particularly in monitoring hand deformities in arthritis patients.
The device's potential extends to measuring other objects with irregular surface profiles.