Why hand and finger patients land here
A finger jammed catching a ball three weeks ago is still puffy and will not straighten past a slight bend. A softball catch or a bad landing on an outstretched hand leaves a knuckle swollen and bruised, and the emergency room X-ray report reads "avulsion fracture at the base of the middle phalanx with volar plate involvement" without anyone explaining what a volar plate even is. A pinch between the thumb and index finger no longer holds a car key steady, and the hand surgeon appointment is three weeks out.
This site exists for the gap between the scan being taken and someone qualified sitting down to walk through it with you. Upload the images or the report and get a second set of eyes on the exact bone, joint, tendon, or ligament named in the findings, in language that does not require a medical degree to parse.
What the hand analysis actually looks at
The panel is tuned for hand MRI, hand and finger X-ray, and hand CT, and it knows the difference between a fifth metacarpal neck fracture from punching a wall (the classic "boxer fracture") and a phalangeal shaft break or a small avulsion fragment pulled off by the volar plate or a collateral ligament. On the thumb, it looks specifically at the ulnar collateral ligament at the base of the thumb and flags language suggesting a Stener lesion, where the torn ligament flips out of place and will not heal without surgery.
For tendon and soft-tissue findings, it reads for flexor tendon lacerations or ruptures, A2 and A4 pulley tears common in climbers, mallet finger and central slip injuries that drop a fingertip or buckle a middle joint, and trigger finger from flexor tenosynovitis where a tendon catches inside its sheath. It also covers Dupuytren cords tightening in the palm, ganglion and mucous cysts near the finger joints, osteoarthritis at the fingertip and thumb-base joints, erosive changes pointing toward inflammatory arthritis, and PIP or MCP joint dislocations. Every answer names the exact bone or joint involved, translates the report wording into plain terms, and notes what commonly follows a finding like that — buddy taping, splinting, hand therapy, or a referral for surgical repair.
Who ends up uploading a hand scan here
Basketball, volleyball, and football players who jammed a finger on a catch or a block. Climbers who felt a pop in a pulley mid-crimp and want to know if it is a sprain or a rupture. People who punched a wall or a bag and are staring at a swollen, shortened knuckle. Skiers who fell holding a pole and landed wrong on the thumb. Office and manual workers whose finger locks or clicks every morning from trigger finger. Older adults with knobbly, aching finger joints wondering whether it is arthritis and how far it has gone. If any of that sounds familiar, the images or the report you already have are enough to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can AI see a finger fracture on my X-ray?
Yes, for the fracture patterns radiologists already look for — metacarpal neck breaks, phalangeal shaft fractures, and small avulsion fragments at the joint margins. The AI panel reviews the rendered images alongside any report text you provide and explains where the break is and what typically happens next, but a hand surgeon or radiologist should confirm displacement and treatment.
What is a Stener lesion in the thumb?
It is when the torn ulnar collateral ligament at the base of the thumb flips over a nearby tendon and gets stuck outside where it needs to reattach. Because it cannot heal in that position on its own, a suspected Stener lesion usually means surgery rather than a splint, which is why the analysis flags that wording specifically.
Why is my finger still swollen months after the injury?
Finger joints heal slowly because the swelling sits close to skin and ligament with little soft tissue to absorb it, and stiffness can linger long after a fracture or sprain looks fine on imaging. Persistent swelling can also mean a missed avulsion fragment, a developing Dupuytren cord, or early joint arthritis, all of which are worth naming out loud to whoever reads your scan next.
Can it read a hand X-ray as well as an MRI?
It reads both, and it is built to know what each is good at. X-ray shows bone alignment and fracture lines clearly; MRI adds detail on tendons, pulleys, the volar plate, and collateral ligaments that an X-ray cannot show. If your imaging only covers one, the analysis says plainly what it can and cannot confirm from that study alone.
Will it tell me whether my finger needs surgery or a splint?
It explains what the finding usually leads to in hand care — buddy taping a stable sprain, splinting a mallet finger, therapy for a stiff joint, or surgical referral for a Stener lesion or a displaced fracture — but the decision belongs to the hand surgeon or therapist examining your finger directly, not to an AI reading images.
Does my hand scan get uploaded anywhere?
Your raw DICOM files, X-ray images, and CT series are parsed and rendered entirely in your browser. Only the rendered images you choose to analyze are sent out, and only for that analysis — the originals never leave your device.
This tool explains imaging language; it does not diagnose, and it does not replace a hand surgeon or a radiologist reading your actual films. Some finger symptoms need a clinic visit today, not a report to read later: a finger that turns pale or cold, an open wound over a knuckle or a bite mark from a punch to the mouth, redness spreading up the finger with pain when the finger is straightened by someone else, or numbness that is rapidly getting worse. Treat any of those as urgent. As with every scan on this site, your raw files stay on your device — only the rendered images you send for analysis ever leave your browser.