Presentation
Impact on Intraoperative Head, Neck, and Back Support Exoskeleton on Surgeon and Residents' Pain and Posture
SessionPoster Session 2
DescriptionBackground: Surgeons and surgical learners are at high risk of developing neck and spinal column work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to sustained poor pastures. Passive exoskeletons are a growing intervention group that can help support surgeons’ body parts to alleviate strain and discomfort. In this study, we evaluated a passive exoskeleton, the NekSpine™, that supports the users head, neck, and back to reduce discomfort.
Methods: The neck exoskeleton was evaluated by a total of nineteen surgeons, twelve consulting surgeons (seven male, five female), and seven surgical residents (5 male, 2 female), across six specialties at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Each surgeon performed a minimum of two intraoperative procedures with the NekSpine™ (exoskeleton condition), and two procedures minimum without (baseline). To subjectively evaluate discomfort, fatigue, workload, and usability, each surgeon completed a NASA-TLX, fatigue and usability survey after each procedure. Objective body part postures for the arms, torso, and neck were collected intraoperatively using Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) for surgeons during the procedure. For each dependent variable, a Shapiro-Wilk test for normality was performed. Variables that were normal were evaluated for significance using Paired Student t-tests with significance being defined as having a p-value < 0.05. Variables that violated normality were evaluated using a Kruskal-Wallis test, with significance being defined as having a p-value <0.05.
Results: Use of the NekSpine™ exoskeleton resulted in a significant decrease in discomfort for the neck, left shoulder, right shoulder, and upper back with no statistical difference in workload or fatigue. There was a significant reduction in mean percentage of surgical duration for the neck in Risk 4 (extreme risk posture; 4.9% (baseline) to 1.5% (exoskeleton)) coupled with increase of percentage of surgical duration in Risk 2 (moderate risk posture; 15.9% (baseline) to 22.0% (exoskeleton)). There was also a decrease in neck mean angle going from an average of 32.7 degrees (baseline) to 27.1 degrees (exoskeleton). Lastly, there was a significant decrease in percentage of surgical duration in Risk 4 (extreme risk posture; from 4.7% (baseline) to 0.4% (exoskeleton)) for the torso.
Conclusion: Surgeons and surgical residents often have to operate with poor postures that can lead to long term neck pain and discomfort. Using the NekSpine™ exoskeleton is a promising intervention to alleviate discomfort and reduce long-term risks.
Methods: The neck exoskeleton was evaluated by a total of nineteen surgeons, twelve consulting surgeons (seven male, five female), and seven surgical residents (5 male, 2 female), across six specialties at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Each surgeon performed a minimum of two intraoperative procedures with the NekSpine™ (exoskeleton condition), and two procedures minimum without (baseline). To subjectively evaluate discomfort, fatigue, workload, and usability, each surgeon completed a NASA-TLX, fatigue and usability survey after each procedure. Objective body part postures for the arms, torso, and neck were collected intraoperatively using Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) for surgeons during the procedure. For each dependent variable, a Shapiro-Wilk test for normality was performed. Variables that were normal were evaluated for significance using Paired Student t-tests with significance being defined as having a p-value < 0.05. Variables that violated normality were evaluated using a Kruskal-Wallis test, with significance being defined as having a p-value <0.05.
Results: Use of the NekSpine™ exoskeleton resulted in a significant decrease in discomfort for the neck, left shoulder, right shoulder, and upper back with no statistical difference in workload or fatigue. There was a significant reduction in mean percentage of surgical duration for the neck in Risk 4 (extreme risk posture; 4.9% (baseline) to 1.5% (exoskeleton)) coupled with increase of percentage of surgical duration in Risk 2 (moderate risk posture; 15.9% (baseline) to 22.0% (exoskeleton)). There was also a decrease in neck mean angle going from an average of 32.7 degrees (baseline) to 27.1 degrees (exoskeleton). Lastly, there was a significant decrease in percentage of surgical duration in Risk 4 (extreme risk posture; from 4.7% (baseline) to 0.4% (exoskeleton)) for the torso.
Conclusion: Surgeons and surgical residents often have to operate with poor postures that can lead to long term neck pain and discomfort. Using the NekSpine™ exoskeleton is a promising intervention to alleviate discomfort and reduce long-term risks.
Event Type
Poster Presentation
TimeTuesday, March 244:45pm - 6:15pm EDT
LocationRhinelander Gallery
Hospital Environments