A musculotendon model for supporting design and analysis of tendon transfers in the hand

This work has been directed at studying and developing a prototype Computer Aided Design(CAD) tool to be used for planning tendon paths in hand reconstructive surgery. The application of CAD to rehabilitative surgery of the hand is a new field of endeavor. There are currently no existing systems designed to assist the orthopedic surgeon in planning these complex peocedures. Additionally, orthopedic surgeons are not trained in mechanics, kinematics, math modeling, or the use of computers. It was also our intent to study the mechanisms and the efficacy of the application of CAD techniques to this important aspect of hand surgery. The following advances are reported here: Interactive 3D tendon path definition tools., Software to calculate tendon excursion from an arbitrary tendon path crossing any number of joints., A model to interactively compute and display the foirces in muscle and tendon., A workstation environment to help surgeons evaluate the consequences of a simulated tendon transfer operation when a tendon is lengthened, rerouted, or reattached in a mew location., It also has been one of the primary concerns in this work that an interactive graphical surgical workstation must present a natural, user-friendly environment to the orthopedic durgeon user. The surgical workstation must ultimately aid the surgeon in helping his patient or in doing his work more efficiently or more reliably.