A standing posture support device that reduces laparoscopic surgeons' occupational lower limb stress

Area of Science:

• Surgical ergonomics
• Biomechanical engineering
• Occupational health

Background:

• Surgeons experience significant physical stress on the lower body when standing for extended periods.
• A novel surgical knee rest (SKR) was developed to mitigate this stress.
• The SKR's effectiveness was evaluated in the context of laparoscopic surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of the surgical knee rest (SKR) on reducing physical strain in surgeons.
• To quantify the reduction in gastrocnemius muscle activity during laparoscopic surgery with and without the SKR.

Main Methods:

• Five healthy male surgeons participated in the study.
• Surface electromyography (sEMG) recorded gastrocnemius muscle activity during laparoscopic colorectal cancer resections.
• Muscle effort was measured as percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC) with and without the SKR over 100 minutes.

Main Results:

• The SKR use resulted in a significant decrease in mean %MVC for the left gastrocnemius muscle over 100 minutes (p=0.027).
• Both left and right gastrocnemius muscles showed significantly reduced %MVC during the first 50 minutes of surgery with the SKR (p=0.008 and p=0.0046, respectively).

Conclusions:

• The surgical knee rest (SKR) effectively reduces physical stress on surgeons operating in a standing position.
• The device offers a practical solution for improving surgeon well-being during lengthy laparoscopic procedures.