Breaking the mold

When Louis Ferreira, PhD, launched a research project to make hand splints with a 3D printer, the technology his team developed was some of the most advanced in the world. Since then, that tech has rapidly evolved – and so too has the work of his research team.

In March 2025, Ferreira’s team was nominated for the Award for Innovation in Hand Therapy at the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy Congress in Washington, DC for this work. This prestigious international award honours individuals who have demonstrated exceptional creativity, ingenuity and impact in advancing the practice of hand therapy.

The team’s virtual method of scanning, adjusting and 3D printing custom hand splints is a first in Canada. Generous donor support through St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation during the past seven years has helped to cover the costs of the research project and leverage additional funding. Today, Ferreira is hopeful that this innovation will become the standard of care across Canada, and throughout the world.

“This will eventually be everywhere,” he says.

Tending to pain

When someone feels pain in their hand or wrist, either due to injury, illness or after surgery, they likely need a splint to recover. Every day, dozens of patients come to the Hand Therapy Clinic at St. Joseph’s Roth | McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre to be fitted by a therapist for a custom splint that treats this common but debilitating problem.

“Some patients are driving hours just for care,” says Ferreira. “The clinic is always full of people and therapists are inundated all the time.”

To be effective, a hand splint needs to fit snugly and feel comfortable so that people will wear it almost 24/7. The traditional splint-making process involves a therapist using thermoplastic to mold a custom brace around someone’s hand and wrist. It is time consuming to make manually and the material absorbs odors, lacks breathability and loses shape over time.

Providing personalized care

Ferreira’s initial 3D printed splint project – launched in 2017 with donor support – broke the mold of what’s possible in hand therapy. The team developed and tested a snapshot scanner that takes a rapid image of the hand and generates a 3D surface model. The therapist then uses software to virtually fit a custom splint, and 3D prints it while the patient waits.

Because there’s no pressure applied, the 3D printed splint holds its shape over time. Patients find the material comfortable, sturdy and breathable thanks to large air holes printed right into it, making them more likely to wear it often and recover more quickly.

Opening new doors

Since then, the project has been refined even more. The team recently developed a fully remote way of scanning someone’s hand using a cell phone and software that allows therapists to virtually adjust the image into a functional position so that the splint will be effective.

“Our major technical achievement has been creating software that makes a virtual hand with a virtual skeleton just based on a surface scan,” says Ferreira. Using these tools, therapists can now adjust someone’s splint and reprint a new one – without that patient ever needing to step into the clinic. They’re working with a company in Belgium to further develop this technology and hopefully extend its impact.

Compared to molding thermoplastic, this method is also more environmentally friendly. The team is also developing new ways to 3D-print to produce even less waste during the splint-making process.

The research project is ongoing, and many clinical studies are underway. “We’re comparing traditional splints to the 3D printed ones and getting feedback from therapists on the process of making the splint,” Ferreira shares. They’re also starting cadaver trials – making splints for cadaver hands to measure fit, pressure and how close they fit to bone to ensure comfort while providing the desired stability to joints in the hand.

“This project includes a lot of technical things, but they're all aimed at solving clinical problems,” says Ferreira. “It wouldn't be worthwhile doing all these technical things if it wasn't solving these real problems.”