title: Minimalistic splint design: a rationale told in a personal style.
abstract: Theoretic clinical reasoning is becoming increasingly important in splint construction. The purpose of this paper is to present an algorithm of decision steps that will help therapists consider all aspects of splint making proactively, so that they can take the necessary steps to be successful. A decision flowchart is presented and discussed in detail. An extra dimension of splint design is emphasized-namely, frugality in structure, technique, and cost. The paper concludes that the use of a comprehensive decision algorithm provides the basis for successful working technique and that the ability to create minimal-design splints is more a state of mind than a technical skill.
authors.affiliation: Rucaplein, Antwerp, Belgium. pvanlede@skynet.be
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Lede
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D013165:Splints