Photo by Mikey Siegel
Carpal Skin is a glove designed by Assistant Professor Neri Oxman of the MIT Media Lab and was developed to aid the pain of those plagued by Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which is caused by the median nerve being compressed at the wrist leading to paresthesia, numbness, and pain. Night-time wrist splinting is the recommended treatment for most patients before going into carpal tunnel release surgery. Carpal Skin is a process by which to map the pain-profile of a particular patient—its intensity and duration—and to distribute hard and soft materials to fit the patient’s anatomical and physiological requirements, limiting movement in a customized fashion. The form-generation process is inspired by animal coating patterns in the control of stiffness variation. Though Oxman does not claim the texture is based on any particular natural pattern one cannot help but identify some of the same formal logic in that of brain coral which is part of the family Faviidae.
Nerve Alignment
Looks Like Brain 🙂