A study was conducted to test wether different mice, and mouse set ups could decrease carpal tunnel pressure and/or improve comfort. they used a traditional Dell mouse a base line (1) and the proceed with the following setups: Dell mouse with a gel mouse pad (2), Dell mouse with a sliding wrist guide (3), a vertical mouse.

They found that “[b]ecause the vertical mouse and wrist pads did not limit the increase in carpal tunnel pressure, the findings of this study do not endorse a strong recommendation for or against any of the ergonomic devices commonly recommended for patients with CTS. There may however be other mechanisms apart from changing carpal tunnel pressure by which ergonomic devices may exert potential beneficial effects. For instance, they may reduce pressure over the palmar branch of the median nerve which travels outside the carpal tunnel but can cause symptoms mimicking CTS”

References

Annina B. Schmid, Paul A. Kubler, Venerina Johnston, Michel W. Coppieters,
“A vertical mouse and ergonomic mouse pads alter wrist position but do not reduce carpal tunnel pressure in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome”,
Applied Ergonomics, Volume 47, 2015, Pages 151-156, ISSN 0003-6870, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2014.08.020., http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003687014001598