Comparison of a semiautomatic protocol using plastering and three-dimensional scanning techniques with the direct measurement protocol for hand anthropometry

This study aimed to compare a three-dimensional (3D) semiautomatic measurement protocol (3D-SAMP) that measures hand dimensions using a plaster hand and a 3D scanner with the conventional direct measurement protocol (DMP). An experiment was conducted to measure 52 dimensions of one hand by 20 measurers with three repetitions. The locations of landmarks attached to the plaster hand were automatically identified and then measurements of the hand dimensions were automatically extracted in the 3D-SAMP. Significant measurement differences with a range of 2.1 to 4.4 mm between the 3D-SAMP and the DMP were observed in 13 out of the 52 dimensions, and the 3D-SAMP showed better reliability than the DMP in terms of intra- and intermeasurer variability. The 3D-SAMP was found significantly faster and easier in hand measurement than the DMP (11.1 +/- 3.5 min for 3D-SAMP and 17.8 +/- 4.5 min for DMP; 5.2 +/- 0.8 for 3D-SAMP and 4.3 +/- 0.8 for DMP using a 7-point scale with 1 for very dissatisfied and 7 for very satisfied for ease of measurement) when fabrication (about 1 hr 10 min) and scanning (3 min) of a plaster hand were not considered. The proposed 3D-SAMP is applicable only to plaster hands available in hand measurement.