Few gadgets are as iconic as the computer mouse, which has been a staple of the desktop PC since it emerged some 60 years ago.
The design has gone through various evolutions in the decades since, from trackball to laser and wired to wireless, as well as a variety of ergonomic redesigns to improve comfort and reduce the risk of wrist strain. Even so, the fundamental form-factor has remained largely recognizable — until now.
Both are designed to reduce the wrist movements associated with repetitive strain injuries (RSI), which the researchers argued had not been solved by existing ergonomic designs such as slanted grips or trackballs that sit under the fingers.
"The main reason for this propagation of strain from the mouse hand to other parts of the body is that users frequently need to reposition (lift) the mouse several hundred times per hour, such as when trying to reach corners of the screen. As every mouse user is familiar with, lifting the mouse requires moving the wrist and sometimes even the forearm," the researchers wrote in a study published in the Sept.–Oct. 2025 issue of the journal ACM Interactions.
Related: History of computers: A brief timeline
The researchers said that the prevailing cause of injury and discomfort when using mice is the fact that most designs still feature rigid outer shells.
Even in the 1970s, when softer materials like rubber and silicone started appearing in the grips of tools like hammers and screwdrivers, mice continued to be made with hard casings, largely because they were cheaper and easier to manufacture.
"In our opinion, the effectiveness of ergonomic devices could improve significantly if mouse design took into consideration that users' hands are not rigid solids. The overwhelming majority of hand tools humans use — keyboards, pencils, hammers, screwdrivers, mice — are rigid for reasons of economy and necessity," the researchers wrote in the study.
"Advances in 3D printing, the popularity of soft robotics [and] other trends, such as flexible electronics … allow us to build consumer electronic devices that are compliant with our bodies."
Fleximouse and A-frame
The researchers’ first prototype, dubbed the Fleximouse, features a pliable mesh body that responds to being squeezed, meaning users can move the cursor by changing their grip instead of moving the device over a surface.
The A-frame design, meanwhile, was developed in collaboration with the Melbourne School of Design in Australia. It offers a more natural grip and is built with fewer moving parts — meaning it is less prone to wear. It also keeps the two bones in the forearm — the radius and the ulna — from being crossed all the time, as they are when the hand is lying flat, which the researchers identified as a leading cause of wrist strain.
The two designs were tested out by 28 students at KTH Royal Institute of Technology — many of whom were gamers and frequent mouse users. Of these users, 11 had previously reported chronic discomfort as a result of extended mouse use, while four had clinically diagnosed RSIs.
Feedback was mixed. Some participants described the Fleximouse as playful and appreciated not having to reposition their wrist as often, but others missed familiar features like the scroll wheel. The A-frame mouse also raised issues around fit, with the researchers finding that even small differences in hand size affected how comfortable or natural the grip felt. That said, both prototypes "significantly reduced wrist repositioning", which was noted as a key contributor to discomfort.
The researchers said future work will explore how to fine-tune flexible designs, including ways to make them adjustable or more easily tailored to users' hands — potentially offering "the same granularity as glove or shoe sizes."
"The idea of customizing and personalizing the computer mouse — much like clothing — now seems closer to reality," they said in the study.
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