A possible revival of population-representing digital human manikins in static work situations – exemplified through an evaluation of a prototype console for robotic surgery

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In the 90s, digital human manikins (DHMs) were introduced in planning of workstations, by static or semi-static simulations. Modern DHMs can simulate dynamic work and offer a rapid way for a virtual pre-production ergonomic evaluation. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders may affect surgical performance and patient safety. A prototype of an open console, which is contrary to the conventional closed consoles and may be seen as a representative for a new generation, has been designed to reduce workload for robotic surgery surgeons. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this project was to test a new DHM tool with improved usability to evaluate the ergonomics of a console of a robotic surgical system in a pre-production stage. METHODS: The DHM tool IMMA was used together with a 3D model of the prototype console. Twelve manikins who represented females and males from two national populations were introduced. Manikin-console distances, after console adjustments per manikin, were compared with a US checklist and Swedish standard for VDU work. RESULTS: The DHM tool was useful for this case, but the distances of the checklist and the standard were needed to be obtained “manually”. The automatic functions of the DHM worked smoothly but were not optimized for VDU work. The prototype fulfilled most, but not all, of the ergonomic criteria of the checklist and the standard. CONCLUSIONS: There is room for improvements of the adjustable ranges of the console prototype. DHMs may facilitate rapid pre-production evaluation of workstations for static work; if ergonomic assessment models for VDU work are built-in, there may be a revival of DHMs in static work situations.

Ergonomic Optimization of Human-Machine Systems in Virtual Environments – A Systematic Literature Review Identifying Research Gaps

“…However, there is variety of measures and guidelines to choose from. RULA was the most frequently used ergonomic measures for postural analyses, since it was developed for a wide range of tasks [24]. However, it is not suitable for all tasks, e.g., VDU work [24].…”

“…RULA was the most frequently used ergonomic measures for postural analyses, since it was developed for a wide range of tasks [24]. However, it is not suitable for all tasks, e.g., VDU work [24]. In general, it is not clear for every use case which ergonomic measures need to be considered.…”

“…For this purpose, international standard methods for ergonomic assessment are used, including RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) [22], REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment) [23], and OWAS (Ovako Working Posture Analysis System) [2]. Rhén et al [24] applied national guidelines, the Swedish standard for computer work [25] and US checklist for computer work recommended by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety (OSHA) [26], specially developed for the ergonomic assessment of VDU work. All these guidelines describe which joint angles to analyze and how to evaluate them.…”

“…RULA [50] US checklist for computer work [24] Swedish standard for computer work [24] OCRA (incl. posture) [51] Manual redesign [24,51] Room layouts RULA [33] REBA [33,34] Walking distance [33,34] Evolutionary algorithm (EA): NSGA-II multi-objective based on RULA, area of occupation, walking distance [33] SPEA-2 multi-objective based on clash points, walking distance [34] Humanpowered vehicles (bike, rowing boat, trike)…”