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Updated: May 8, 2026
An Objective and Child-friendly Assessment of Arm Function by Using a 3-D Sensor
Published on: February 12, 2018
Three-dimensional assessment of hand outcome
1Department of Plastic Surgery, Queen Victoria Hospital, Holtye Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 3DZ, UK. robert.pearl@talk21.com.
Introduction:
Patient reported outcome measures are central to National Health Service quality of care assessments. This study investigated the benefit of elective hand surgery by the simultaneous analysis of pain, function and appearance, using a three-dimensional (3D) graphical model for evaluating and presenting outcome.
Methods:
A total of 188 patients scheduled for surgery completed pre- and postoperative questionnaires grading the severity of their pain, dysfunction and deformity of their hand(s). Scores were plotted on a 3D graph to demonstrate the degree of 'normalisation' following surgery.
Results:
Surgical groups included: nerve compression (n=53), Dupuytren's disease (n=51), trigger finger (n=20), ganglion (n=17) or other lump (n=21), trapeziometacarpal joint osteoarthritis (n=10), rheumatoid disease (n=5) and other pathology (n=13). A significant improvement towards normality was seen after surgery in each group except for patients with rheumatoid disease.
Conclusions:
This study provides a simple, visual representation of hand surgery outcome by plotting patient scores for pain, function and appearance simultaneously on a 3D graph.
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