Functional parameters, wrist posture deviations and comfort: A comparison between a computer mouse and a touch pen as...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Ergonomics
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Repetitive computer tasks can lead to musculoskeletal disorders in wrists and hands.
• The increasing use of touch screens necessitates ergonomic evaluations of touch pen devices.
• This study addresses the need for comparative ergonomic research on input devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the performance and ergonomic impact of touch pens versus computer mice.
• To evaluate movement time, error rates, wrist posture, and user comfort.
• To provide data for optimizing computer input device design and usage.

Main Methods:

• Utilized ISO 9241-9 standards for performance and comfort measurements.
• Recruited 27 participants to perform tasks using both a touch pen and a computer mouse.
• Employed paired t-tests for statistical analysis of collected data using SPSS.

Main Results:

• Touch pens demonstrated significantly better performance parameters (movement time, error rate) than computer mice.
• Reduced wrist extension, flexion, ulnar deviation, and radial deviation were observed with touch pen usage.
• Users reported higher overall comfort when using the computer mouse compared to the touch pen.

Conclusions:

• Touch pens outperform traditional mice in key performance metrics and reduce harmful wrist deviations.
• While initial comfort favors mice, long-term adaptation and proficiency with touch pens are expected to improve user comfort.
• Touch pens present a promising ergonomic alternative for computer tasks, potentially mitigating musculoskeletal risks.