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. 2016 Apr 1;7:1451–1454. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2016.03.089

Hand measurement data from human babies at birth, from 26 to 41 weeks estimated gestational age

Emmanuelle Honoré a,b,d,⁎, Thameur Rakza c, Philippe Deruelle c
PMCID: PMC5540670  PMID: 28795122

Abstract

This article displays measurement data from the hands of human babies, taken at birth. Measurements were made on 25 individuals born pre-term, from 26 to 36 weeks EGA (Estimated Gestational Age), and on 36 individuals born at term, from 37 to 41 weeks EGA. Data were collected in the Neonatal Unit of the CHRU Jeanne de Flandre (University Hospital) in Lille, France, between January and May 2014. Seven kinds of measures were taken with a medical caliper on the hand, palm and digits.

Keywords: Hand, Morphology, Measurements, Neonatalogy, Premature babies

Specifications table

Subject area Biology
More specific subject area Biometry
Type of data Table
How data was acquired Medical caliper
Data format Raw
Experimental factors Measurements were taken directly on hands with a medical caliper.
Experimental features Measurements were taken in the first week of life.
Data source location Neonatalogy Unit, CHRU Jeanne de Flandre (University Hospital), Lille, France
Data accessibility Data is with this article
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Value of the data

  • •

    Measurements taken at different gestational ages contribute to the elaboration of growth chart standards, useful for the assessment of dysmorphology or impaired development [1], [5].

  • •

    This data can be used as a reference series for comparative anatomy among juvenile primates.

  • •

    The variety of measures taken can make this data set suitable to be included in a study of functional morphology or biomechanics.

  • •

    Benchmark measures in hand morphometry are potentially useful for industrial applications, contributing to the improvement of gripping performances of pre-term babies items.

1. Data

Two series of measurements taken at birth on the hands of human newborns are displayed: a series from babies born pre-term, from 26 to 36 weeks EGA (Estimated Gestational Age), and a series from babies born at term, from 37 to 41 weeks EGA. Data was collected in the Neonatal Unit of the CHRU Jeanne de Flandre (University Hospital) in Lille, France, from January until May 2014. Seven measurement criteria were selected, concerning either lengths, widths or ray of the hand, the palm and the digits. They are recorded with the EGA, the sex and the weight of the individuals, regardless of the side – right hand or left hand (Tables 1 and 2).

Table 1.

Measurement series on the hand of 25 human babies born pre-term (26–36 EGA), in mm.

NAME Surname Estimated gestational age Weight Sex Wi Wt Rt Lm Lp Lh Wh
RAH OUN 34 1580 M 6 7.67 24.97 23.39 27.85 51.24 26.93
RAH KAI 34 2125 M 7.85 7.64 32.01 25.13 31.64 56.77 28.73
KER YOU 31 1100 M 5.82 6.23 25.8 20.96 29.04 50 23.57
GIL THO 34 2005 M 6.92 8.2 35.35 23.27 31.3 54.57 27.48
DUF THE 36 1380 M 6.58 7.39 30.67 22.96 27.82 50.78 27.7
EL AMI 29 1410 M 5.89 6.66 18.75 22.9 20.34 43.27 26.42
BUD ANI 30 1010 F 5.07 5.75 23.07 18.1 20.66 38.76 20.41
EL YUS 35 1920 M 6.81 7.72 28.35 23.93 30.95 54.88 29.97
LEC ALI 35 1200 F 7.29 7.52 25.28 22.17 26.11 48.28 25.15
MAN ANG 33 1500 M 6.04 7.11 28.89 22.75 29.84 52.59 25.2
RAI FOU 31 1300 M 5.89 6.72 17.34 22.82 33.34 45.16 23.89
GOU LOU 26 850 M 4.04 4.65 27.56 21.36 20.07 41.43 21.4
SEN ISA 29 900 M 5.04 5.7 27.25 19.7 24.47 44.17 20.55
LEG EME 28 1060 F 6.37 7.01 22.39 20.58 24.49 45.07 24.18
GOU LOU 29 1000 M 6.19 6.93 27.11 20.41 23.63 44.08 20.65
LAB MAR 31 1640 M 7.94 8.13 29.24 26.35 22.21 48.56 24.45
LAB SUS 31 1650 F 6.65 7.37 29.18 26.2 21.74 47.94 25.12
BRO GEO 29 1600 M 8.33 8.37 23.97 22.44 25.4 47.84 25.83
FAR ADR 31 1650 F 8.91 8.12 27.87 24.46 25.41 49.21 26.08
GUS OCT 35 2160 F 6.23 7.95 34.9 25.25 30.14 55.39 28.81
GUS ANA 35 2400 M 6.73 8 36.55 25.83 35.4 61.23 31.85
DEF SAR 35 2090 F 6.53 7.3 34.02 25.95 28.67 54.62 28.2
DUT MAT 36 2880 M 8.43 9.75 38.77 28.03 30.41 58.44 30.08
DEL ELO 36 2780 M 7.75 8.67 38.57 27.39 29.87 57.26 33.26
CRE STA 35 2630 M 7.17 8.68 32.7 26.77 31.66 58.43 29.81
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Table 2.

Measurement series on the hand of 36 human babies born at term (37–41 EGA), in mm.

NAME Surname Estimated gestational age Weight Sex Wi Wt Rt Lm Lp Lh Wh
BRA CAM 37 3160 F 8.1 9.12 37.43 29.43 33.38 62.81 33.73
DEP LUC 37 2250 M 7.38 8.06 30.94 25.96 31.47 57.43 30.83
TRO NOL 38 2430 M 7.49 8.34 33.54 25.2 28.63 53.83 31.28
DAR LIL 40 3150 F 7.52 8.16 35.32 26.89 29.66 56.55 31.98
BAL LUC 41 3560 M 8.67 10.41 36.27 28.85 35.5 64.35 36.31
NIC MAR 38 2470 M 8.12 9.9 36.32 27.78 30.21 57.99 31.08
MAI FLA 40 3700 M 8.78 9.46 33.88 27.02 36.64 63.66 34.95
HEL AIM 39 3160 F 8.53 8.64 34.08 26.13 37.87 64 32.68
LAN BAP 37 2750 M 7.67 8.37 35.75 27.41 30.86 58.27 33.11
DAR THO 39 3120 M 9.74 9.96 34.43 27.04 38.09 65.13 35.24
FON TOM 39 4280 M 8.29 9.46 42 30.82 37.39 68.21 37.62
PAC GUE 40 3160 M 8.64 9.63 38.06 27.53 36.08 63.61 33.33
CAE ALE 39 3820 M 8.35 9.27 37.06 27.57 35.19 62.76 34
BOI OLI 39 3560 F 8.34 9.62 36.94 28.38 32.27 60.65 34
VAC LOU 39 3160 M 10.09 9.29 34.35 29.09 33.62 62.71 33.41
HAJ WAL 41 3610 M 8.1 7.36 38.91 28.54 36.05 64.59 35.02
POU BAP 41 3560 M 8.4 9.57 37.54 29.04 34.96 64 35.53
EL I INA 40 3410 F 7.77 9.49 35.4 30.22 35.18 65.4 33.03
FOU MAR 38 3700 M 9.55 9.59 38.38 31.42 36.54 67.96 34.96
ADD HOU 40 3720 M 9.5 9.67 38.12 31.82 27.23 59.05 35.62
CHA NOH 40 3730 F 8.26 9.18 42.43 28.1 36.05 64.15 34.5
PEC BAK 40 4550 M 8.28 9.62 45.14 31.09 38.4 69.49 39.47
VAD ANA 40 3490 F 7.26 8.75 38.03 27.24 35.42 62.66 35.16
HOU AUD 39 3120 F 7.74 10.16 36.57 29.31 33.21 62.53 37.41
BEN SER 41 2900 F 7.79 7.21 37.3 26.4 32.14 58.54 29.31
MUL CEL 40 3990 F 8.11 9.49 40.48 30.57 35.49 66.06 36.33
CAT THI 41 3890 M 8.06 10.08 43.55 31.42 36.46 67.88 36.4
EST ILO 39 3060 F 8.14 8.32 36.07 28.18 35.46 63.64 32.67
EL MAI 39 3340 F 9.36 9.5 36.94 27.5 35.51 63.01 35.28
SCH KEN 39 3260 M 10.03 10.4 36.03 27.46 36.65 64.11 36.47
LE EMI 40 3430 F 7.87 9.39 36.03 27.46 36.65 64.11 32.87
SAV LOU 39 3220 M 7.24 8.03 40.7 29.81 37.53 67.34 33.81
BEN IME 40 3450 M 8.93 8.87 34.06 30.56 36.55 64.66 34.25
SIB MAO 37 1580 F 6.36 6.89 28.14 20 29 49 25.12
SIB HOR 37 1635 M 5.96 7.2 27.25 20.64 23.14 43.78 25.06
CAL NOE 38 2310 M 6.85 8.13 32.97 25.43 33.05 58.48 30.87
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2. Experimental design, materials and methods

Seven measurements were taken on one hand of each individual with a medical caliper ([2], [3], [4]: Figure 3):

  • 1.

    Wi=width of the second digit (index) measured at the mid phalanx, just above the proximal inter-phalangeal joint.

  • 2.

    Wt=width of the first digit (thumb) measured at the middle of the proximal phalanx.

  • 3.

    Rt=Ray of the first digit (thumb) measured from the proximal end of the hand palm to the distal end of the thumb.

  • 4.

    Lm=length of the middle digit, measured from the base of the digit.

  • 5.

    Lp=length of the palm of the hand, measured from the proximal end of the hand to the distal end of the middle finger.

  • 6.

    Lh=maximal length of the hand, measured from the proximal end of the hand to the distal end of the middle digit.

  • 7.

    Wh=width of the hand, measured on the palm, just below the joint between the metacarpals and the proximal phalanges.

Measurements were made on the palmar face of the hand, in supination.

Acknowledgements

The first author is funded by the British Academy (Newton International Fellowship, grant code: 75110). We thank all parents who have agreed their child being part of the morphometric data collection. We thank the administrative and medical staff from the neonatal unit of the CHRU Jeanne de Flandre of Lille, France. We are also grateful to Dr. S. Bouquillon-Delerive and Prof P. Thomas for their help.

Footnotes

Appendix A

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version at doi:10.1016/j.dib.2016.03.089.

Appendix A. Supplementary material

Supplementary material

mmc1.pdf (1.2MB, pdf)

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Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary material

mmc1.pdf (1.2MB, pdf)

Articles from Data in Brief are provided here courtesy of Elsevier

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