Simulation of Low-Energy Impacts on Unprotected Hands

Hand injuries are a significant problem in all industries. Despite the continuous advancements in the technology and the safety procedures for production and maintenance tasks, there are still manual tasks with high-risk factors that can produce hand injuries with varying degrees of severity. These injuries often yield a functional limitation or disability and may have significant economic implications depending on the severity of the damage: a typical type of hand injury is produced by an object impacting some region of the hand. This work presents the development of a finite element model created with Simulia/Abaqus to simulate the impact of a small-sized and low-mass object on the dorsum of a flattened hand sitting on a rigid plate. The hand model includes the complete bone structure surrounded by soft tissue with material properties representative of a real hand. The simulations include impacts on the fingers, knuckles, and metacarpal region. The impact reaction forces are computed and compared to controlled impact tests performed on synthetic and cadaveric hands. The ultimate objective is to develop a calibrated model that can be used to assess the level of protection offered by metacarpal gloves typically used in different industries.