Passive shoulder exoskeleton support partially mitigates fatigue-induced effects in overhead work

Bock, Sander De; Ampe, Toon; Rossini, Marco; Tassignon, Bruno; Lefeber, Dirk; Rodriguez–Guerrero, Carlos; Roelands, Bart; Geeroms, Joost; Meeusen, Romain; Pauw, Kevin De

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103903

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, the study of Gillette and Stephenson, 2019 ([ 19 ]) observed a decrease in muscle activation of the anterior deltoid of 19%. Furthermore, De Bock et al, 2023 ([ 26 ]) compared muscle activation of different muscles with and without exoskeleton under laboratory and field conditions. They concluded that muscle activation was less important during field conditions and that the laboratory results should be interpreted with caution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, passive exoskeletons may be more easily used in industry to reduce MSDs that widely affect workers. Indeed, according to the literature, the use of passive exoskeletons decreases the EMG amplitude of the arm and shoulder muscles, notably the anterior deltoid, medialis deltoid, upper trapezius and biceps brachii [ 3 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]). There is also a subsequent decrease in fatigue when the subject wears the exoskeleton compared to situations without the exoskeleton [ 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These adverse outcomes may be related to the fact that studies have been carried out either into a laboratory or directly in the field. Of all the studies with passive upper limb exoskeletons, only nine have been conducted in the field [ 19 , 20 , 23 , 26 , 29 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Results of these studies are mostly in agreement with those carried out into a laboratory environment, with a fatigue reduction and a decrease of muscle solicitation for shoulder muscles, while wearing the exoskeleton.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Results of these studies are mostly in agreement with those carried out into a laboratory environment, with a fatigue reduction and a decrease of muscle solicitation for shoulder muscles, while wearing the exoskeleton. However, field studies using exoskeletons are essential to better target the needs of certain professions when implementing MSDs prevention strategies [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Evaluation of a Passive Upper Limb Exoskeleton in Healthcare Workers during a Surgical Instrument Cleaning Task

Arnoux

Farr

Boccara

et al. 2023

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

(1) Background: Healthcare workers are highly affected by work-related musculoskeletal disorders, particularly in the lower back, neck and shoulders, as their occupational tasks expose them to biomechanical constraints. One solution to prevent these musculoskeletal disorders may be the use of a passive exoskeleton as it aims to reduce muscle solicitation. However, few studies have been carried out directly in this field to assess the impact of the use of a passive upper limb exoskeleton on this population. (2) Methods: Seven healthcare workers, equipped with electromyographic sensors, performed a tool cleaning task with and without a passive upper limb exoskeleton (Hapo MS, Ergosanté Technologie, France). Six muscles of the upper limbs were analysed, i.e., anterior deltoid, biceps brachii, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, triceps brachii and longissimus thoracis. A subjective analysis of the usability of the equipment, the perception of effort and discomfort, was also carried out using the System Usability Scale and the Borg scale. (3) Results: The longissimus thoracis was the most used muscle during this task. We observed a significant decrease in the muscular solicitation of the anterior deltoid and latissimus dorsi when wearing the exoskeleton. Other muscles were not significantly impacted by the device. (4) Conclusions: the passive exoskeleton used in this study allowed the reduction in muscular load on the anterior deltoid and latissimus dorsi without negative effects on other muscles. Other field studies with exoskeletons are now necessary, particularly in hospitals, to increase our knowledge and improve the acceptability of this system for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Evaluation of a Passive Upper Limb Exoskeleton in Healthcare Workers during a Surgical Instrument Cleaning Task

Arnoux

Farr

Boccara

et al. 2023

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With 43% Deltoideus anterior reduction the shoulder support provided by the DeltaSuit falls within the reported range. Numerous studies have investigated exoskeletons in the context of an overhead task with a power tool (Hyun et al, 2019 ; Yin et al, 2019 ; Schmalz et al, 2019 ; Maurice et al, 2019 ; De Bock et al, 2023 ; Kim et al, 2018 ; Kim and Nussbaum, 2019 ). The tool weight ranged from 0.66 kg (Maurice et al, 2019 ) to 5.9 kg (Kim et al, 2018 ) with an average weight of 2.3 kg.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of passive shoulder exoskeleton support during working with arms over shoulder level

Brunner,

van Sluijs,

Luder

et al. 2023

Wearable Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Musculoskeletal disorders have the highest prevalence of work-related health problems. Due to the aging population, the prevalence of shoulder pain in workers in physically demanding occupations is increasing, thereby causing rising costs to society and underlining the need for preventive technologies. Wearable support structures are designed to reduce the physical work load during physically demanding tasks. Here, we evaluate the physiological benefit of the DeltaSuit, a novel passive shoulder exoskeleton, using an assessment framework that conforms to the approach proposed in the literature. In this study, 32 healthy volunteers performed isometric, quasi-isometric, and dynamic tasks that represent typical overhead work to evaluate the DeltaSuit performance. Muscle activity of the arm, neck, shoulder, and back muscles, as well as cardiac cost, perceived exertion, and task-related discomfort during task execution with and without the exoskeleton were compared. When working with the DeltaSuit, muscle activity was reduced up to 56% (p < 0.001) in the Trapezius Descendens and up to 64% (p < 0.001) in the Deltoideusmedius. Furthermore, we observed no additional loading on the abdomen and back muscles. The use of the exoskeleton resulted in statistically significant reductions in cardiac cost (15%, p < 0.05), perceived exertion (21.5%, p < 0.001), and task-related discomfort in the shoulder (57%, p < 0.001). These results suggest that passive exoskeletons, such as the DeltaSuit, have the potential to meaningfully support users when performing tasks in overhead postures and offer a valuable solution to relieve the critical body parts of biomechanical strains for workers at high risk of musculoskeletal disorders.

show abstract

Research Trend Analysis of Usability Evaluation in Exoskeleton Robots

Lee

Hwang

2023

Communications in Computer and Information Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Passive shoulder exoskeleton support partially mitigates fatigue-induced effects in overhead work

Cited by 19 publications

References 59 publications

Evaluation of a Passive Upper Limb Exoskeleton in Healthcare Workers during a Surgical Instrument Cleaning Task

Evaluation of a Passive Upper Limb Exoskeleton in Healthcare Workers during a Surgical Instrument Cleaning Task

Effect of passive shoulder exoskeleton support during working with arms over shoulder level

Research Trend Analysis of Usability Evaluation in Exoskeleton Robots

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About