EMET Education
Musculoskeletal
Hand
Carpal tunnel syndrome

3D model · Hand

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 3D Model

Show during the visit how the carpal tunnel compresses your patient's median nerve, then the procedure you recommend. They leave with their model on their phone.

Customize the lesions

Opens in your browser, no sign-up. For orthopedic and hand surgeons, neurologists, physiatrists, sports medicine physicians, rheumatologists 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 trace the median nerve: transverse carpal ligament, carpal tunnel, flexor tendons, Guyon's canal.
2
Reproduce

Set the severity from the clinical exam and the EMG: mild, moderate, severe; the cause if known (idiopathic, cyst, lipoma). Then walk through the proposed treatment, 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

Every setting updates the model live: you reproduce the compression from your patient's exam in front of them, then walk through the treatment you recommend.

The mechanism and the pathology, in a few clicks

The “Movements” section bends and extends the wrist; the “Pathology & lesions” panel sets the severity, the cause and the median nerve variant. Each setting changes the model in front of the patient.

Bend the wrist, the pressure rises

A slider from −60° extension to 60° flexion, or “Bend/straighten the wrist” back and forth, fist, Phalen's test. The tunnel pressure gauge follows the movement (Gelberman 1981: 2.5 → 94-110 mmHg).

Model panel: wrist flexion, tunnel pressure gauge, “Make a fist” and “Phalen's test” buttons. — **Wrist** · neutral

Neutral wrist: the median nerve under the transverse carpal ligament, low tunnel pressure. — **Wrist** · neutral

The treatment, step by step

Four procedures, played step by step, continuously or one step at a time: night splint, injection, open release, endoscopic release.

Night splint

The wrist is brought back to a straight position, where tunnel pressure is lowest, and held there by a light splint during sleep.

Splint, step 1: the wrist brought back to a straight position. — 1Wrist straight

Splint, step 2: the splint in place, holding the wrist straight. — 2Splint on

Splint, step 3: worn nightly, it often calms the nighttime tingling. — 3Calmer nights

Carpal tunnel injection

The needle enters at an angle at the wrist crease and stops in the tunnel, at the ulnar edge of the nerve, without touching it; the medication spreads as a sleeve around it.

Injection, step 1: the needle at an angle in the tunnel, at the ulnar edge of the nerve. — 1Needle in the tunnel

Injection, step 2: the medication spread as a sleeve around the nerve. — 2Product around the nerve

Injection, step 3: the needle withdrawn, a relief that is often temporary. — 3Needle withdrawn

Open release

A palmar incision, from Kaplan's line to the distal crease, then the ligament divided along its full length, at the ulnar edge of the nerve.

Open release, step 2: the ligament divided at the ulnar edge of the nerve. — 2Ligament divided

Open release, step 3: the nerve freed, the tunnel contents advanced. — 3Nerve freed

Endoscopic release

A cannula slid under the ligament through a portal at the proximal wrist crease, then a blade that divides the ligament as it is withdrawn.

Endoscopic release, step 2: the blade divides the ligament as it withdraws, under camera control. — 2Ligament divided

Endoscopic release, step 3: the nerve freed, the tunnel opened as with an open release. — 3Nerve freed

After the visit

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 carpal tunnel after 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 nerve, the ligament, a tendon or an instrument: its name and an explanation appear.

One explanation per structure: bones, median nerve, transverse carpal ligament, flexor tendons, lesions, instruments.
Written for the patient, in their language.
They can reread it on their own, on the tablet or at home.

Explanation bubble “Transverse carpal ligament” shown after tapping the ligament, over the flattened 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 carpal tunnel 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 compressed nerve and the proposed treatment understands it, 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 (night splint, injection, open release, endoscopic release) and other features are paid options.

Do I need an account?

Not to open a model, set the lesion 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: lesion, treatment, language and visit date. A name written on the image you hand out stays on that image.

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.

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.

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.

Can the wrist be moved?

Yes: from −60° to 60°, extension and flexion, with the slider or back and forth; the pressure inside the tunnel, read on the model, follows the movement.

Does the model show the risks of surgery?

Yes: a dedicated panel draws onto the model the radial forbidden zone, the structures of Guyon's canal, pillar pain, incomplete release and recurrence, each fading in on the anatomy.

Design

Who designed this model

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

Gelberman R.H., Hergenroeder P.T., Hargens A.R., Lundborg G.N., Akeson W.H. The carpal tunnel syndrome. A study of carpal canal pressures. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 1981.
Lanz U. Anatomical variations of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. J Hand Surg Am, 1977.
Honis H.R. et al. Anatomical considerations of US-guided carpal tunnel release in daily clinical practice. J Ultrason, 2023.
Stang F., Stütz N., Lanz U., van Schoonhoven J., Prommersberger K.J. Results after revision surgery for carpal tunnel release. Handchir Mikrochir Plast Chir, 2008.
Jones Q., Hill E.E., Li A., Pereira C., Dave D., Robker J., Jones N.F. Clinical, electrophysiological, and intraoperative analysis and postoperative success of revision surgery for persistent and recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome. Eplasty, 2024.
Amanatullah D.F., Gaskin A.D., Allen R.H. Median nerve superficial to the transverse carpal ligament. Orthopedics, 2015.

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