Biomechanics and Motion Analysis

Development, Validation and Clinical Application of a Quantitative Method for Thumb Trapeziometacarpal Joint Motion

Principal Investigator: William P. Cooney III, M.D.
Project Coordinator: Christine Hughes — hughes.christine@mayo.edu

Figure 3: In-vivo setup for the quantitative measurement of the trapeziometacarpal joint

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a method for assessing the maximal workspace of the thumb's trapeziometacarpal (TMC) joint motion in vivo (Figure 3). A computer model validated experimentally and a database of TMC joint motion from normal volunteers were created. The next phase will study pre- and post-operative TMC joint motion for patients with osteoarthritis.