EMET Education
Musculoskeletal
Elbow
Posterior interosseous nerve

3D model · Elbow

Posterior Interosseous Nerve Compression 3D Model

Show during the visit where the posterior interosseous nerve is tight, how pronation tightens the arcade, then the procedure you recommend. Your patient leaves with their model on their phone.

Customize the lesions

Opens in your browser, no sign-up. For hand and orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, physiatrists, sports medicine physicians, rheumatologists, radiologists and primary care physicians.

The patient understandsTheir lesions, reproduced from their imaging, on a model they handle themselves.
Reassured, ready to decideThey review the proposed procedure at home before giving consent.
Documented informationVisit saved and dated: a record of the information you provided.
In their language🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇪🇸 🇷🇺

How it works

In the visit, in three steps

Structured information in a few minutes, which the patient can review at home.

1
Show

Open the model and follow the radial nerve into its deep branch: arcade of Frohse, supinator, the tendinous edge of the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) that crosses it a little higher, then its end at the dorsal wrist.
2
Reproduce

Set the severity and the site of the compression, rotate the forearm, then show the skin as translucent: the nerve's pain area appears where it belongs, alone or with the tendon's. Then play the proposed procedure, step by step.
3
Share

Give the patient the QR code or an image: they find their own case, in their language.

Features

Explain in detail during the visit

Posterior interosseous nerve compression, or radial tunnel syndrome, plays out under the arcade of Frohse or under the edge of the ECRB. Every setting updates the model live: you reproduce the compression from your exam in front of your patient, then walk through the treatment you recommend.

The nerve, the site and the pain, in a few clicks

The “Pathology & lesions” panel sets the severity and the site of the compression; the “Movements” section rotates the forearm. Each setting changes the model in front of the patient.

Compression, in three stages

Under the site, the nerve flattens; above it, it swells and turns red. The more severe the compression, the thicker the arcade. A measurement under the slider quantifies the flattening.

Model panel: the posterior interosseous nerve compression slider, set to “Moderate”, with the measurement read below it. — **Mild**

Mild compression: the nerve barely flattened under the arcade of Frohse, seen from the front and inside. — **Mild**

The treatment, step by step

Three procedures, played step by step, continuously or one step at a time: injection next to the nerve, hydrodissection, nerve release. After the release, a timeline shows the nerve's recovery.

Injection next to the nerve

Under ultrasound, forearm in supination: the needle stops against the nerve, just above the arcade; the medication wraps around it as a sleeve. The procedure relieves pain, the nerve stays tight.

Injection, step 1: the needle entering from the anterolateral forearm, stopped against the nerve. — 1Needle in place

Injection, step 2: the bluish medication wrapping around the nerve as a sleeve. — 2Injection

Injection, step 3: the needle removed, the painful area faded on the skin. — 3Needle removed

Hydrodissection

A larger volume of saline, same route: the fluid slides under the arcade and lifts it off the nerve, which regains part of its caliber. The level of evidence remains low, case series, and the effect is sometimes temporary.

Hydrodissection, step 2: the fluid slid under the arcade of Frohse, which moves off the nerve. — 2Arcade lifted

Hydrodissection, step 3: the needle removed, the nerve freed, the arcade lifted. — 3Needle removed

Nerve release

Anterior approach, forearm in supination: the arcade of Frohse and the proximal supinator fibers are opened over 1 cm along the nerve, the ECRB retracted. Then the nerve's recovery, from surgery to one year.

Release, step 1: Metzenbaum scissors opening the arcade of Frohse along the nerve. — 1Arcade divided

Release, step 2: the opening continued into the supinator over 1 cm, the nerve exposed. — 2Supinator opened

Release, step 3: the released nerve regains its caliber and color, under the timeline. — 3Recovery

The patient leaves with their 3D model

They scan the QR code: the model, their findings and the proposed treatment follow them on their phone, in their language.

The model, exactly as you set it

At the end of the visit, the Consultation panel shows the anatomical findings, the proposed treatment and a QR code. The patient scans it and finds the model on their phone exactly as you set it, in their language.

Their lesions, and the proposed treatment to replay step by step.
Their anatomical findings and the explanatory card.
No identifying data in the link.

Patient view on a phone: the elbow after posterior interosseous nerve release, and the “The proposed treatment” panel open, with the “Replay” button. — What the patient sees after scanning the QR code

Every structure explains itself on tap

Tap the arcade of Frohse, the nerve, the supinator or an instrument: its name and an explanation appear.

One explanation per structure: bones, nerve, arcade of Frohse, supinator, lesions, instruments.
Written for the patient, in their language.
They can reread it on their own, on the tablet or at home.

Explanation bubble “Arcade of Frohse” shown after tapping the arcade, over the compressed nerve. — “What is this?” on tap

They can replay the treatment step by step

From “The proposed treatment,” the patient replays the procedure: each step plays at their own pace, with its explanation, as often as they like.

Patient view on a phone: the posterior interosseous nerve release replayed step by step. — “Replay”: the procedure, step by step

Try it with your next case: the model opens in your browser, nothing to install.

Customize the lesions

Patient information

Quality information, documented

Only 12% of U.S. adults have proficient health literacy (National Assessment of Adult Literacy). A patient who sees their own lesion and the proposed procedure understands them, gives truly informed consent, and approaches treatment with confidence.

For the patient

They see their own lesions, reproduced from their imaging, and how the proposed treatment unfolds. They leave with the same material and can review it at home, with their family, as often as they like, before giving consent.

For the physician

Each visit created with an account keeps a record of the information provided: what was shown, when, and whether the patient reviewed it. The model image, with the anatomical findings, the proposed treatment and the QR code, downloads for the patient's chart and prints. Informed consent, as the Joint Commission puts it, is more than getting a signature.

Saved and datedThe exact state of the model: injuries shown, treatment proposed.
Identical, archivableThe patient receives what you showed; the image goes in the chart and prints.
TrackedEach time the patient opens the link is recorded.
AnonymousThe link given to the patient carries no identifying data.

“Document the informed consent conversation and the patient’s (or surrogate’s) decision in the medical record in some manner.”

AMA Code of Medical Ethics, Opinion 2.1.1, Informed Consent

The model supports the consent conversation and the written consent form; it does not replace them. Data and privacy: legal information (in French).

Questions

Questions from colleagues

Is the model free?

Partly: the model and most of the lesions are free. Treatments (injection, hydrodissection, release) and other features are paid options.

Do I need an account?

Not to open the model, set the lesions and walk through the treatment. After about fifteen adjustments, you will be asked to create a free account: it saves your visits, picks them up from one time to the next, and records when the patient opens the link.

What equipment do I need?

Just a web browser, nothing to install: computer, tablet or TV screen in the exam room; the patient opens it on their phone. One click saves an image, without the interface, for the chart.

What happens to patient data?

No patient names are stored. The link given to the patient carries only the state of the model: lesions, treatment, language and visit date. A name written on the image you hand out stays on that image.

Is it a medical device?

No: it is an educational tool. It does not diagnose, does not plan surgery, and does not replace the consent conversation or the written consent form. Among software functions that are not medical devices, the FDA lists those intended for general patient education and interactive anatomy diagrams used for training.

How long does it take in clinic?

Three adjustments and one procedure played: a few minutes, during the visit. The patient reviews it at home, as often as they like.

Can the compression and the tendinopathy be shown together?

Yes: the same model sets the ECRB tendon and the nerve, and the translucent skin displays both pain areas, the nerve's lower than the tendon's. It helps discuss a differential diagnosis or an association, which is common. The tendon treatments are on the lateral epicondylalgia page.

What if I don't operate?

The model is first a way to explain the compression and the pain: severity, site and pronation can be shown without walking through surgery. Injection and hydrodissection are included alongside the release.

Can I embed it on my website?

It is planned for upcoming plans: the model displayed on a practice or hospital website, credited to EMET Education.

Which languages?

English, Spanish, French and Russian. The patient receives the model in the language chosen during the visit, which helps with the roughly 28 million people in the U.S. with limited English proficiency, alongside a qualified interpreter, not instead of one.

Design

Who designed this model

Model designed by Dr. Mikaël Chelli, orthopedic surgeon, based on the reference anatomical descriptions and measurements. Updated October 7, 2026.

Laulan J. et al. The relation of the extensor carpi radialis brevis with the division of the deep branch of the radial nerve: its significance in the pathophysiology of elbow pain. Ann Chir Main Memb Super, 1994. PMID 7531475
Vergara-Amador E., Ramírez A. Anatomic study of the extensor carpi radialis brevis in its relation with the motor branch of the radial nerve. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res, 2015. PMID 26547256
Sarhadi N.S., Korday S.N., Bainbridge L.C. Radial tunnel syndrome: diagnosis and management. J Hand Surg Br, 1998. PMID 9821607

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