Analysis of Fused Deposition Modeling Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Dynamic Splint for Rehabilitation of Fingers and Hands by Finite Element Method

The hand is the most flexible part of the human that made up of a large number of bones connected by joints. Hand spasticity is a major consequence of post-stroke movement disorder which significantly reduces the patient’s quality of life. Conventional splint structures are skill-based and have a heavy structure that causes difficulties for a patient during rehabilitation. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is a process of 3D printing which creates parts by heating, extruding and depositing thermoplastic polymers. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a polymer frequently used in the FDM system as filament. The use of 3D-printing technology has been proposed in recent years to overcome this disadvantage. The goal of this research was to design a dynamic splint with the 3D printer to improve accessibility, customizability, and function. To determine the structural strength of the developed models, a simulation of finite element analysis was performed. The dynamic splint was simulated in Abaqus software and the required force for bending the fingers was applied to them. Based on these results, the additive manufacturing splint equipped with 100% infill percentage and 0.1 mm layer height showed better displacement values for specimens compared to other low-temperature thermoplastic specimens from a technical point of view.