Trigger finger is a common hand disorder where patients experience discomfort and pain during finger movements. In severe cases, there may be a catching or clicking sensation during the extension of the finger, resembling the action of a trigger being pulled, hence the name. Despite surgical interventions, some trigger finger patients remain dissatisfied with the outcomes, and there is a lack of research in areas such as tissue pathology, biomechanics, and imaging assessment. This is why our team took a comprehensive approach in understanding trigger finger by gathering the perspectives of biomechanics, medical image processing, clinical treatment, and rehabilitation medicine.,

To address the surgical needs and the promotion of minimally invasive techniques in orthopedics, our team has designed a scalpel set suitable for minimally invasive procedures for trigger finger. This specially designed scalpel set can not only improve surgical outcomes using a minimally invasive concept but can also be used to completely resect the circular tendon sheath, which is useful for histological investigation and medical image analysis. We also investigated the effects of rehabilitation intervention on severe cases by assessing hand function and biomechanics in long-term prognosis tracking.

Furthermore, we utilized human hand cadaveric samples to explore the mechanical and material properties of finger ring tendon sheath and flexor tendons. The combination of the clinical assessment research results and image analysis made strides in etiological research for clinical diagnosis and future interventions. Through the mechanics data, image analysis, and clinical parameters obtained in our earlier research, we established a biomechanical model of the hand that can applied in future studies. Additionally, we developed the “Integrated Trigger Finger Percutaneous Dissociation Surgery Simulation Training System,” a virtual surgical training system that allows more surgeons to practice and become familiar with minimally invasive surgical techniques, ultimately enhancing the quality of clinical healthcare.