Around 1.76 million people worldwide live with hand osteoarthritis, and about 20% of them are under 30. Many young people endure the burden of long-term treatment.
Treating chronic osteoarthritis calls for costly supports and frequent hot and cold therapy, and healing inflammation in flexible joints poses a dilemma: a loose brace lets medication pads slip off when the joint bends, while a tight one keeps the skin from breathing and causes rashes. An effective, dynamic care solution is urgently needed.
So I built Skin Sketch, a dynamic inflatable brace that can be customised at low cost. Inspired by the branching ribs of cacti (a stripe pattern), it turns a complex curved surface into evenly distributed, interconnected curves that let medication flow through and adapt to the lines of each person’s hand. It detects pressure and wraps only the swollen areas, achieving both comfort and a secure fit with high spatial efficiency.
Workflow
· A clinician captures a 3D scan of the hand and marks the swollen areas.
· Software generates a stripe pattern on the hand mesh, designing local support where medication and hot/cold therapy are applied.
· The brace is fabricated with digital tools and sealed together with modular medication, an air-pressure sensor and a flex sensor.
· The patient controls the inflation to set a comfortable pressure, and the air chambers gradually deflate as the swelling subsides.
This project explores a new possibility for soft, pneumatic wearables in healthcare: unlike rigid structures, they are lightweight, low-cost and adjustable in real time.
每年全球约有 176 万手部骨关节炎患者，其中 20% 来源于 30 岁以下的患者，许多青少年正饱受长期治疗的痛苦。
慢性骨关节炎的治疗需要昂贵的支撑与频繁的冷热疗愈，而灵活关节处炎症的疗愈面临一种进退两难的局面：松垮的护具在弯曲关节时容易导致药片脱落；而过紧的护具则会导致皮肤难以呼吸，引发皮疹。急需一种有效的、动态的护理方案。
我因此构建了 Skin Sketch，一种动态且可低成本定制的充气护具。它以大自然中仙人掌的肋骨分叉（stripe pattern）为灵感，将复杂曲面转化为均匀分布且互通的曲线，允许药物流经并适应每个人的手部线条，仅在肿胀区域进行压力检测与包裹，从而达到舒适性与包裹性兼具的高空间利用率。
工作流
· 临床医生捕捉手部的三维扫描，并标记肿胀区域
· 软件在手部网格上生成 stripe pattern，在用药、冷热敷的区域进行局部支撑的设计
· 通过数字化工具进行制造，并与模块化的药物、气压传感器、弯曲传感器进行密封安装
· 病人操控充气量并自行控制合适的压力值，气囊会随着肿胀的消减，逐渐减少充气量
这个项目主要探索了柔性气动可穿戴设备在医疗领域的一种新的可能性：区别于刚性结构，它轻便、低成本且可实时调整。
