Assessment of colour differences in silicone hand and digit prostheses: perceptible and acceptable thresholds for fair and dark skin shades.

This study addresses the dilemma of initial clinical and social acceptance of a newly fabricated silicone prosthesis in relation to its colour match to the natural skin. This was achieved by derivation of specific colour difference thresholds defining perceptible and acceptable levels of colour sensitivity. Two separate sets of 10 fair and dark shade digit prosthesis samples were each fabricated with a stepped increase in colour difference (deltaE) against the baseline hand prosthesis.