Ergonomics

Introduction  Lower cross syndrome, also known as pelvic crossed syndrome, occurs if there is inadequate muscle strength, leading to an imbalance in the lower extremities. This condition is characterized by the weakening and tightening of muscle groups on the anterior and posterior aspects of the body. Mostly, there is weakness in the abdominal muscles, gluteus maximus, and gluteus medius, while there is tightness in the hip flexor muscle groups. There are various studies investigating musculoskeletal disorders across different professions, but there is no research on the prevalence of lower cross syndrome among housemaids...

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) occur as a result of long-term exposure to inappropriate working postures and repetitive use of body postures, leading to harmful consequences for patients, employees, and employers. Evaluating distinct working postures can contribute to effective interventions. Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine ergonomic risks of MSDs during repeated blood pressure measurement processes and to evaluate the effectiveness of a training on this topic. Methods: A pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design studied 64 nurses in a training and research hospital in Turkey...

Autonomous capabilities, including Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology, aim to reduce human effort, extend capabilities, and enhance safety. While AVs offer societal benefits, human intervention remains necessary, especially in complex situations. As communication technology advances, human intervention is possible from remote sites. In such remote locations, highly skilled tele-drivers (TEDs) are ready to face situations too complicated for the AV. However, current work still needs a comprehensive mapping of the challenges that TEDs would face...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Understanding effective ergonomic interventions is crucial for enhancing occupational health and career longevity. There is a paucity of clear ergonomics guidelines in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery (FPRS), placing practitioners at high risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and their consequences. RECENT FINDINGS: There is mounting evidence that FPRS specialists are at increased risk of WMSDs as compared with the public and other surgical specialties...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is widely used because of the many advantages of a robotic approach. The da Vinci Si robot is one of the most commonly used surgical robot systems, but it may be associated with higher costs owing to the use of consumable surgical supplies. Our aim was to conduct a preliminary investigation of the capability of the MP1000 system for RARP. METHODS: In this prospective, multicentre, single-blinded study, we randomly assigned 42 patients scheduled to undergo RARP between April and September 2021 to a da Vinci Si group (control) or an MP1000 group (intervention)...

OBJECTIVES: Laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) was challenging to most surgeons due to the two-dimensional view, difficult manipulations of the instruments, ergonomic discomfort, and the associated muscular spasm and effort. Technological advances with improved surgical experience, have made LG a more feasible and favorable approach for gastric cancer (GC) patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: LG was performed in 44 patients with GC between July 2015 to June 2022, in the Department of Surgical Oncology, Oncology Center, Mansoura University, Egypt, and we assessed the surgical outcomes of this approach as an initial experience of a single cancer center...

INTRODUCTION: Surgeons are at high risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms due to a range of factors including, maladaptive positioning and surgical ergonomics. Cervical muscle strain and biomechanical load is most prevalent due to repetitive motions and prolonged static neck positioning. This issue is apparent through reports of prevalence between 10 and 74.4% among surgeons. The aim of this systematic review is to provide an objective assessment of the clinical evidence available and a descriptive analysis of the effects of kinematics and surgical ergonomics on the prevalence of surgeons' cervical musculoskeletal pain...

Laparoscopic instrument handles design and dimensions are crucial to determine the configuration of surgeons' hand grip and, therefore, can have a deleterious effect on overall surgical efficiency and surgeons' comfort. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of laparoscopic handle size and hand surface area on surgical task performance. A single-blind, randomized crossover trial was carried out with 29 novice medical students. Participants performed three simulated tasks in "black box" simulators using two scissor-type handles of different sizes...

BACKGROUND: Recent advancements in the development of robotic devices increasingly draw the attention toward the concept of robotic microsurgery, as several systems tailored to open microsurgery are being introduced. This study describes the combined application of a novel microsurgical robot, the Symani, with a novel robotic microscope, the RoboticScope, for the performance of microvascular anastomoses in a two-center preclinical trial. METHODS: Six novices, residents, and experienced microsurgeons (n = 18) performed five anastomoses on 1...

BACKGROUND: Digital health (DH) brings considerable benefits, but it comes with potential risks. Human Factors (HF) play a critical role in providing high-quality and acceptable DH solutions. Consultation with designers is crucial for reflecting on and improving current DH design practices. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the general DH design processes, challenges, and corresponding strategies that can improve the digital patient experience (PEx). METHODS: A semi-structured interview study with 24 design professionals...

The influence of various polarised glasses on visual performance is crucial due to their widespread. This study measured the visual contrast sensitivity (CS) of dominant eyes by quick contrast sensitivity function (qCSF) procedure at 10 spatial frequencies and 3 noise levels under nonglare, steady glare, steady glare with night lenses, and steady glare with day&night lenses, respectively. Later, the second experiment measured the subjects' subjective feelings under these four viewing conditions. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the CS between the two conditions with polarised glasses and the steady glare...

There is a lack of a clear and consistent definition of human-centricity in Industry 5.0. This study identified the definition of human-centricity in Industry 5.0 through a systematic literature review and used it to assess the readiness of Ergonomics/Human Factors communities in the UK. The assessment of the communities readiness was conducted by reviewing UK accredited courses and events of three professional bodies; and interviewing practitioners (n = 8). Eleven themes were identified as elements of human-centricity from the thematic analysis of 30 publications...

Nebulizers generate aerosols from liquid-based solutions and suspensions. Nebulizers are particularly well suited to delivering larger doses of medication than is practical with inhalers and are used with a broad range of liquid formulations. When the same drug is available in liquid or inhaler form, nebulizers are applicable for use with patients who will not or cannot reliably use a pressurized metered-dosed inhaler (pMDI) or dry powder inhaler (DPI) due to poor lung function, hand-breath coordination, cognitive abilities (e...

There is evidence that existing standards for signal timing do not provide enough time for many pedestrians to safely cross intersections. Yet, current methods for studying this problem rely on inefficient manual observations. The objective of this work was to determine if the YOLOv4 and Deep SORT computer vision algorithms have the potential to be incorporated into automated measurement systems to measure and compare pedestrian walking speeds at one-stage and two-stage street crossings captured in birds-eye-view video...

PURPOSE: Minimally invasive surgery benefits patients but poor operating ergonomics causes musculoskeletal injuries in surgeons. This randomised controlled trial aims to assess whether robotic-assisted surgery with the open-console Versius® system can reduce surgeons' ergonomic risks during major colorectal resections. METHODS: Prospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05262296) in March 2022. Adult patients requiring a minimally invasive colorectal resection were potentially eligible...

Optical Motion Capture Systems (OMCSs) are considered the gold standard for kinematic measurement of human movements. However, in situations such as measuring wrist kinematics during a hairdressing activity, markers can be obscured, resulting in a loss of data. Other measurement methods based on non-optical data can be considered, such as magneto-inertial measurement units (MIMUs). Their accuracy is generally lower than that of an OMCS. In this context, it may be worth considering a hybrid system [MIMU + OMCS] to take advantage of OMCS accuracy while limiting occultation problems...

Dental ergonomics provides an overview of dentists' work efficiency. The objective of this study was to obtain quantitative information and produce a visualization of the network of scientific publications on the topic of ergonomics and dentistry using bibliometric analysis. Data mining was conducted using the Scopus database and Boolean expressions (ergonom* AND dentist*) on 14 April 2023. Data extraction and analysis were performed using Open Refine version 3.5.2., VOSviewer version 1.6.17., VOSviewer thesaurus, Microsoft Excel, and Tableau Professional version 2020...

BACKGROUND: Evidence on the prevalence of lower back pain (LBP) among nurses is widespread in the literature, with several risk factors being reported. These include manual handling of patients, repetitive bending and twisting movements, and long working hours. It is reported that LBP has negative health outcomes and causes poor work performance among healthcare workers (HCWs). The magnitude of ergonomic risks associated with these healthcare activities has not been adequately investigated in Botswana...

BACKGROUND: Dentists, including endodontists, frequently experience musculoskeletal disorders due to unfavourable working postures. Several measures are known to reduce the ergonomic risk; however, there are still gaps in the research, particularly in relation to dental work in the different oral regions (Quadrants 1-4). METHODS: In this study (of a pilot character), a total of 15 dentists (8 male and 7 female) specialising in endodontics were measured while performing root canal treatments on a phantom head...

Despite the importance of laparoscopic skill development to General Surgery trainees, current laparoscopic simulators are either too expensive or suffer from poor portability or low video quality. Moreover, several trainers without height adjustable platforms and screens do not promote optimal ergonomics. In this paper, we present the design process and initial prototype of a novel ergonomic laparoscopic simulator that addresses these limitations.