Purpose

The purpose of this study is to validate a novel model of resting hand splint manufactured by additive manufacturing (AM) and compare it with the traditional model manufactured by high temperature thermoplastic in terms of cost, weight, volume and thermal comfort.

Design/methodology/approach

A novel resting hand splint model was created from the topology optimization (TO) and analyzed, by finite-element analysis, manufacturing cost and weight, with a traditional resting hand splint. A pilot clinical study was carried out to verify heat diffusion during the use of the two splints.

Findings

The results showed that compared with the traditional model, the novel model reduced the volume of material used by 35.48%, the weight of the orthosis by 17.56% and the maximum surface deformation by 171.17% when subjected to actuation forces. It was also verified that, when manufactured with Nylon by AM, the new model is 1.5 times cheaper than the traditional model made of Polypropylene. The result of the thermographic analysis showed greater temperature variation in the use of the traditional splint (+4.6°C) compared to the temperature variation observed in the nylon splint (2.1°C).

Practical implications

These results have as clinical relevance the demonstration of the feasibility of manufacturing functional orthoses that are more comfortable, cheaper and lighter than traditional ones.

Originality/value

This study describes the use of TO to manufacture a novel resting hand splint, which was compared with the commonly used traditional splint in terms of mechanical resistance, weight, cost and thermal comfort.

中文翻译：

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从拓扑优化到通过增材制造生产的静止手夹板模型

目的

本研究的目的是验证一种由增材制造 (AM) 制造的新型休息手夹板模型，并将其与由高温热塑性塑料制造的传统模型在成本、重量、体积和热舒适性方面进行比较。

设计/方法/方法

从拓扑优化 (TO) 中创建了一种新的静止手夹板模型，并通过有限元分析分析了传统的静止手夹板的制造成本和重量。进行了一项试验性临床研究，以验证在使用两个夹板期间的热扩散。

发现

结果表明，与传统模型相比，新型模型减少了35.48%的材料体积，减少了矫形器重量17.56%，受力时最大表面变形减少了171.17%。还证实，当 AM 使用尼龙制造时，新型号比由聚丙烯制成的传统型号便宜 1.5 倍。热成像分析的结果表明，与使用尼龙夹板（2.1°C）观察到的温度变化相比，使用传统夹板（+4.6°C）的温度变化更大。

实际影响

这些结果具有临床相关性，证明了制造比传统矫形器更舒适、更便宜和更轻的功能性矫形器的可行性。

原创性/价值

本研究描述了使用 TO 制造一种新型的静止手夹板，并在机械阻力、重量、成本和热舒适性方面与常用的传统夹板进行了比较。