AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ijb.1963
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Evaluating the clinical benefit and acceptance of a bespoke 3D-printed splint for the treatment of mallet finger injury: A pilot study in a cohort of patients

Una M. Cronin1 ,  Aidan O’Sullivan1 ,  Margo Sheerin2 ,  Kevin J. O’Sullivan1 ,  Niamh M. Cummins3,4,5 ,  Damien Ryan6 ,  Leonard W. O’Sullivan1*
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1 Rapid Innovation Unit, Confirm Smart Manufacturing Centre & Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
2 Occupational Therapy Department, University Hospital Limerick Group, Nenagh General Hospital, Co., Tipperary, Ireland
3 School of Medicine, SLÁINTE Research and Education Alliance in General Practice, Primary Healthcare and Public Health, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
4 Ageing Research Centre, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
5 Department of Paramedicine, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
6 Emergency Department, ALERT Limerick EM Education Research Training, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
IJB 2024, 10(2), 1963 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.1963
Submitted: 3 October 2023 | Accepted: 3 November 2023 | Published: 8 March 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s).. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Mallet finger injuries due to forced flexion of the distal interphalangeal joint represent a common reason for hospitalization. These injuries are primarily managed using generic Stack splints. The gold standard of care is custom splinting by a specialized hand therapist. However, this is not widely available due to staffing constraints. The aims of this study are to: (i) evaluate whether treating mallet finger injuries with a custom three-dimensional (3D)-printed splint is clinically beneficial, and (ii) assess patient and healthcare professional (HCP) acceptance and experience of bespoke 3D-printed mallet splints over generic splints. Ten adult patients with closed mallet finger injury were recruited in this study, which was conducted across three Injury Units in the University of Limerick Hospital Group (ULHG). Each patient’s injured finger was measured using calipers and subsequently fitted with a bespoke 3D-printed splint. Clinical benefit and acceptance of bespoke 3D-printed splints for the treatment of mallet finger injury was assessed. The results indicate that it is clinically advantageous to use a custom 3D-printed splint over a premolded generic splint. Out of the ten patients recruited, eight had successful outcomes based on the occupational therapist (OT) measurements using the Crawford classification scale. The results showed that 40% of patients scored excellent, 30% good, 30% fair, and 0% poor. In addition, in terms of patient and HCP acceptance of the splint, nine of the ten patients stated that they would use the 3D-printed custom splint again, if needed, in the future. In conclusion, a high level of patient and HCP acceptance signifies the clinical advantage of using 3D-printed splints. This pilot study shows that advances in 3D printing could make custom splinting a viable option for use in personalized healthcare.

Keywords
: Mallet finger
Mallet Injury
3D printing
Additive Manufacturing
Funding
This publication has emanated from research supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under Grant Numbers SFI 16/RC/3918 co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing
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