J G Person1, A J Hodgson, A G Nagy. 1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite widespread acknowledgement that strain injuries do occur to surgeons, ergonomic assessments in minimally invasive surgery are comparatively rare. Current assessment techniques rely on labor-intensive manual recording techniques, so there is a need for an automated system. METHODS: We used an optoelectronic measurement system to make postural measurements at frequencies of ~5 Hz and then converted these measurements to ergonomic stress scores using a modified Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method. RESULTS: We successfully recorded postures at least once per second during 96% of the time the surgeon was performing tissue manipulation tasks. We found that the ergonomic stress scores were comparatively high throughout the procedure, particularly for the wrist. CONCLUSION: An automated high-frequency postural measurement system is feasible for making ergonomic assessments in an intraoperative setting. Such a system will also be a critical component in validating surgical simulations for use in training and credentialing surgeons and in designing and evaluating equipment.
BACKGROUND: Despite widespread acknowledgement that strain injuries do occur to surgeons, ergonomic assessments in minimally invasive surgery are comparatively rare. Current assessment techniques rely on labor-intensive manual recording techniques, so there is a need for an automated system. METHODS: We used an optoelectronic measurement system to make postural measurements at frequencies of ~5 Hz and then converted these measurements to ergonomic stress scores using a modified Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method. RESULTS: We successfully recorded postures at least once per second during 96% of the time the surgeon was performing tissue manipulation tasks. We found that the ergonomic stress scores were comparatively high throughout the procedure, particularly for the wrist. CONCLUSION: An automated high-frequency postural measurement system is feasible for making ergonomic assessments in an intraoperative setting. Such a system will also be a critical component in validating surgical simulations for use in training and credentialing surgeons and in designing and evaluating equipment.
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