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Exoskeletons as a potential intervention to support simulated perioperative staff tasks
Alec Gonzales1, Dechristian França Barbieri1, Divya Srinivasan1
1Department of Industrial Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, United States.
Introduction:
Perioperative staff perform multiple daily tasks with varying physical demands. Passive exoskeletons may be an appropriate intervention to support these workers across multiple tasks as they are wearable devices that can be worn throughout the day. The aim of this study was to identify if shoulder-support exoskeletons (SSEs) and back-support exoskeletons (BSEs) can reduce physical exposure during multiple tasks representative of perioperative staff.
Methods:
Community participants completed simulated tasks representative of perioperative staff at a medical simulation center at a regional healthcare system. These included static tasks such as two-handed static holding, one-handed symmetric laparoscope hold, one-handed asymmetric laparoscope hold, retraction, instrument crate preparation, and dynamic tasks like patient transfer. Each participant completed simulated static tasks with a SSE, dynamic tasks with a BSE, and all tasks without exoskeleton support (control). Peak muscle activity, metabolic energy expenditure, self-reported exertion, and discomfort were compared between exoskeleton conditions using a one-way analysis of variance.
Results:
Results show that during the one-handed asymmetric laparoscope hold task, peak muscle activation decreased in the right anterior deltoid by 4.3% when wearing the SSE compared to control (p = 0.01). During the two-handed static hold task, peak muscle activation decreased in the right anterior deltoid by 5.9% when wearing the SSE compared to control (p = 0.06). No differences between SSE or BSE and control conditions were found for the remaining tasks across peak muscle activation or self-reported metrics.
Conclusion:
Results found that SSE reduce shoulder muscle activity during select static perioperative tasks. This suggests that exoskeletons may be a promising intervention to support perioperative staff and reduce the risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders to develop.
Practical Application:
Exoskeletons may be a potential solution to support multiple static tasks performed by perioperative staff.
