Potential method for relieving fatigue in radiologists

Abstract

Radiologists moved to an environment in which they read digital images off of computer displays instead of film images off of light boxes. With film and light boxes they typically would read for about an hour (seated) and then take a break while the film librarian changed the images on the view box. With digital viewing off computers they tend to sit all day in front of the computers with far fewer breaks and opportunity to stand up and move around than with film. There is concern that this lack of activity not only contributes to back, shoulder and neck discomfort, but also contributes to increased fatigue which has been shown to impact reader performance. The goal of this study was to determine if there are differences in physiologic vital signs (heart rate and blood pressure) of radiologists as a function of whether they read images while seated or while standing up. Five subjects had their blood pressure and heart rate measured while seated and while standing reading cases in the normal clinical setting. For all three measures there was a statistically significant (p < 0.0001) difference between seated and standing measures with seated being lower than standing. The higher heart rate and blood pressure with standing suggests that the radiologists are more active in this position and thus potentially more attentive than while seated. This study will be followed up to determine impact on diagnostic performance of standing vs seated as well as subjective ratings of wakefulness and mood. PURPOSERadiologists have moved from an environment in which they read digital images off computer displays instead of film images off light boxes. With film and light boxes they typically would read for about an hour (seated) and then take a break while the film librarian changed the images on the view box. During that time they would generally leave the viewing area, move to another alternator to resume work, or go to their offices to carry out other tasks. More often than not, they essentially got up and moved around a bit. With the transition to digital viewing off computers they tend to sit all day in front of the computers with far fewer breaks and opportunities to stand up and move around than with film. There is concern that this lack of activity not only contributes to back, shoulder and neck discomfort, but also contributes to lack of activity that could affect their physical well-being in general. One study of two large hospitals reported backache in 83% of technologists and neck pain in 59% of female radiologists. Mouse and keyboard use has also been associated with development of carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome in radiologists [1-3] Hedge et al. have documented that current patterns of information technology use in healthcare specifically pose an increased risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. [4] As a first step in our investigations into fatigue, we designed a survey to find out whether fatigue is a common and important problem in the radiology reading room that was given at different times during the d...

Human Factors and Human-Computer Considerations in Teleradiology and Telepathology

“…Another easy step is to simply stand up for awhile while reading cases. For example, one study was conducted to determine if there are differences in physiologic vital signs (heart rate and blood pressure) of radiologists as a function of whether they read images while seated or standing up [ 80 ]. Five subjects had their blood pressure and heart rate measured while seated and standing reading cases in the normal clinical setting.…”

A method to determine the impact of reduced visual function on nodule detection performance

“…It has also been found to have a negative influence on observer performance 11,12 and some work has been devoted to methods that can help combat the effects of fatigue. 13,14 Ikushima et al 13 have assessed the relationship between fatigue and visual acuity, finding visual acuity to be better when there is less fatigue. However, very little work has investigated the impact of sub-optimal visual acuity on observer performance.…”