3D scan-based classification of Chinese young female hand morphology

Abstract To investigate the changes in hand morphology among young females, researchers employed 3D hand scanning to perform anthropometric measurement of 111 Chinese young women (20–26 years), enabling hand morphology classification for ergonomic applications. A total of 32 hand parts were measured and analyzed based on these models. The findings reveal that variables describing hand morphology are predominantly categorized into four types: finger width, finger circumference, finger length, and hand length. The typical indicators reflecting hand morphological characteristics include hand length, middle finger width, proximal circumference of the index finger, and ring finger length. Results revealed five distinct hand types: short/thin, short/wide, standard, long/thin, and long/wide. Compared to current national standards in China (GB/T 16252 − 1996), modern hand morphology showed significant increases in hand length (+ 3.3%) and metacarpal breadth (+ 8.3%). We propose a novel sizing system (5-size-5-fit) with 180/86 as the predominant type, optimized for ergonomic glove design. This study provides critical data references for the industrial design of hand appliances, while also offering potential implications for ergonomics and hand injury prevention.