DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF WRIST ORTHOSIS

Abstract

A Wrist Hand Orthosis functions as a mechanical, wearable medical device to support weak or damaged parts of the forearm, wrist, and hand, while it also serves to correct orthopedic maladjustments with both mobile and immobile functionality. A wrist orthosis or wrist splint is a device worn on the wrist that covers from the base of the fingers down to the mid-forearm. The aim of our team was to design and manufacture a practical prototype which would serve both purposes of allowing the wearer recovery by limiting the wrist motion as well as allowing sufficient movement for limited office-type clerical work and can be locally manufactured. The specific design, materials, peculiarities of the orthosis itself such as perforation, and straps or elastic body-gripping, exhibit great variation, each with its own unique benefits and drawbacks. As such, our team modelled and simulated a wrist orthosis design, based on the standard model available in the common market, with 5 different standard materials used for wrist orthoses. The loading was approximated to a flexural loading on the wrist of nearly 62.3N, which with a standard safety factor of 1.2, totals at 74.76 N. Ventiperene was chosen out of a lot including neoprene, perforated foam-material, nylon-cotton, and polyester.