My name is Andy Skelton and this is the story of the invention of the FingerPress™, the world’s most effective finger straightening splint. It was born out of necessity. One of my fingers started to curl up after a sporting injury. I brought it to a hand specialist for evaluation. Mine was a complicated case: first the finger had to be straightened out, and then the cause of the bending would have to be corrected with surgery.
To straighten the finger, my hand surgeon offered a choice between surgery and physical therapy. One surgery sounded better than two so I chose therapy. After months of applying the available devices my hand therapist gave up and sent me back to the surgeon. I was still not very excited about having two surgeries so I told the surgeon to wait. I went home and invented a new device that actually worked. The surgeon saw the results on my hand–my finger was perfectly straight–and he said, “you should patent that!”
The original version of the FingerPress was made of Lego. Yes, I made a working medical device from plastic toys and it worked. I took my surgeon’s advice and met with an intellectual property attorney. We filed the applications and now a Lego model is pictured in patent applications filed in the United States and internationally.
I also met with a professional CAD expert, Marshall Peck of Protobuilds, and converted the Lego design into a 3D-printed prototype. After that, I was able to design and manufacture devices myself using common BPA-free plastics like PET and TPU. Improvements to the device can be designed and printed in less than a day. Rapid prototyping is amazing technology.
The medical devices industry is a tough one to get into. My friend Brian Wilson who left the USMC as a Major joined OrthoPress to help bring the FingerPress to market. We delivered devices to surgeons and now their patients have started seeing good results on their fingers. We’re still looking for someone to do a formal study of the device and the treatment possibilities that it offers. However, there’s no reason we can’t bring this wonderful device to market without a study.
Finger splints are medical devices that are regulated by the FDA at the lowest level. OrthoPress has listed the FingerPress with the FDA and we make every device in an FDA-registered facility.
At first, the FingerPress will come in a few standard sizes that will fit most people. However, due to the magic of 3D-printing we have the ability to manufacture customized devices. We’ll be able to take measurements and produce a finger splint personalized for the unique dimensions of any finger. A new version of the device is in development. We’ve even been working on a device to straighten a big toe!
Whether your fingers or toes curled up due to fractures, burns, ruptured pulleys, Dupuytren’s contracture, or any other cause, I hope that a FingerPress can help you straighten it out.
Please see an orthopedic specialist before attempting to treat yourself. I treated my own severe PIP flexion contracture with a FingerPress that I made of Lego but I did it under the supervision of a surgeon and a hand therapist.