How to make a 3D scan from a human hand in a split second

The development from scratch to a working prototype of an equipment of a 3D hand scanner in which it is possible to 3d scan a human hand in a fraction of a second. 

The reason is there is currently not a scanner on the market that is able to do this. Most current scanners take a picture of both sides and stitch it together which causes many irregularities and time issues.

Goals of the project

3D Scanning and 3D Printing are both emerging technologies and receive a lot of attention by media and conferences. The medical branch needs and develops a lot of very personalized products, like tailor-made surgical instruments, orthoses and prosthetics.

Due to the agile nature of the hand and the inability of most current scanners to scan all 360 degrees at the same time, scanning the human hand was a now a time- and labor-intensive task. This sprouted the idea for a new project: developing that missing scanner. An ambitious goal was set in the beginning of the project: the development of a working prototype from a blank sleeve. A prototype of a product which doesn’t exist yet: a dedicated and affordable 3D Hand Scanner.

The prototype proves the technology, working principles and produced a couple of first hand.

Graduate students

  • Pamela Leon de Loreto, 2014
  • Pieter Smakman, 2015
  • Dolores Hilhors, June 2016
  • Annette de Vries, June 2016
  • Alexander Weiss, graduation 2017