Analysis of Wrist Extension Using Digital Image Correlation

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome also known as median neuropathy is a painful disorder of the wrist and hand. It is a medical condition arising due to the abbreviation of the median nerve in the vicinity of carpal tunnel, resulting in numbness, parenthesis and muscle weakness in hand. We present an effective optical approach for the measurement of strain on superficial muscles and tendons due to wrist extension, a remedy for carpal tunnel syndrome. The DIC code developed computes the in-plane strain with a correlation function using pictures taken, using a CCD camera, before and after extension. The shift between the initial picture and subsequent one is performed by computation of cross-correlation using FFT. This study can assist practitioners working in the field of applied anthropology to develop advanced diagnosis methodologies.