Volumetry of Hand and Forearm: A 3D Volumetric Approach

Abstract

Background: Swelling and edema of the hand and forearm may occur in various traumatic and degenerative diseases. So far, no precise measurement protocol exists. The objective of this study was to evaluate an examination protocol with relevant regions of interest (ROIs) measured by a 3-dimensional (3D) scanner to achieve precise, reproducible, and objective measurements for an optimized detection of volumes of the hand and forearm. Methods: A 3D scan protocol was developed using an Artec, 3D scanner EVA to measure discrete hand volumes of healthy volunteers. Five areas were defined as ROIs, representing volumes of the finger, metacarpus, wrist, hand, and distal forearm. Contralateral limbs were used for volume comparisons and calculation of volume differences. Results: For this study, 12 individuals (58.3% women, 24 hands and forearms) with a mean age of 27.1 ± 3 years were included. Mean volume values for left and right ROIs correlated with each other, with slightly higher volumes for the right upper extremity. Volume differences showed statistically significant results for the finger region (ROI I; P = .009), the metacarpal region (ROI II; P < .001), hand region (ROI IV; P = .001), and forearm region (ROI V; P = .006), with the exception of the wrist region (ROI III; P = .722). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that this 3D volumetric approach is a reliable and objective tool for measuring volumes and circumferences in hand and forearm. Based on our determined ROIs, further studies are needed to explore the significance for clinical applications.

Establishing regions of interest of the lower leg and ankle for perioperative volumetric assessment with a portable 3D scanner in orthopedic and trauma surgery – a pilot study

“…Foot : whole foot distal to the malleolus fork (Volume 9). Illustration by the authors with Artec Studio 13 software program Version 13, Artec Group, Luxembourg resolution of 0,1 mm the portable Artec Eva 3D-Scanner offers these advantages, and has shown significant correlation to the water displacement method with an identified mean error of only 1.4% in previous studies [9,10,[24][25][26][27]. Due to high resolution and three-dimensional representation, swelling conditions of the lower extremities can be assessed even in the case of concomitant open wounds.…”