Effect of a Back-Assist Exosuit on Logistics Worker Perceptions, Acceptance, and Muscle Activity

Yandell, Matthew B.; Wolfe, Anna E.; Marino, Matthew C.; Harris, Mark; Zelik, Karl E.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-69547-7_2

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…At present, the study results suggest that, at least for a subset of individuals, there is reliable and repeatable evidence that the exosuit was capable of enhancing lifting endurance. Participants also had limited acclimation time (10-20 minutes), but this was still sufficient to demonstrate the exosuit's benefits in this study and prior studies (e.g., (Slaughter et al, 2023;Yandell et al, 2022)). However, extended acclimation time has been found to improve the benefits a user gets from an exo (Poggensee and Collins, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Can back exosuits simultaneously increase lifting endurance and reduce musculoskeletal disorder risk?

Rodzak,

Slaughter,

Wolf

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Back exosuits are wearable technologies designed to make lifting easier and reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorder risks by relieving low back strain. The study objective was to test whether an elastic back exosuit could increase a wearer’s endurance when lifting heavy objects, and if so, to assess whether lifting more cancels out the exosuit’s risk reduction benefits. We performed two case series studies with field artillery Soldiers from the U.S. Army who frequently lift heavy objects. These participants repeatedly lifted 45-55 kg until failure. We counted the number of lifting repetitions to evaluate their lifting endurance with vs. without the exosuit. We found that seven of eight participants increased their lifting repetitions while wearing the exosuit, with endurance increases ranging from 28-75%. We then used these empirical data with an ergonomics assessment tool to model the effects on low back disorder risk when an exosuit is worn and more lifts are performed. Participants exhibited 34-89% lower cumulative back damage (an indicator of low back disorder risk) when wearing the exosuit. These results confirmed that participants wearing the exosuit increased their physical capacity to perform lifting work without canceling out the injury risk reduction benefits. Ergonomic models indicate that to achieve dual benefits—performance enhancement and risk reduction—it is better to increase lifting repetitions, not the weight of objects being lifted. These results have important implications for workers in civilian and defense sectors, suggesting that back exosuits may make it possible to simultaneously boost productivity and reduce musculoskeletal disorder risks.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Can back exosuits simultaneously increase lifting endurance and reduce musculoskeletal disorder risk?

Rodzak,

Slaughter,

Wolf

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Over 12 months, Vanderbilt and the 101st engaged in focus groups, interviews, observations, and a series of design sprints that involved testing and feedback from over 100 Soldiers. During this design period, we began with a passive-elastic back exosuit technology that our team at Vanderbilt had previously researched and developed (Lamers et al, 2018(Lamers et al, , 2020Yandell et al, 2022), and transitioned to civilian commercial use (HeroWear, 2020). We then redesigned the exosuit into a prototype that integrates with Soldiers' gear (e.g., body armor) and meets other Soldier needs.…”

Section: Motivation and Project Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of U.S. Army Soldiers wearing a back exosuit during a field training exercise

Slaughter,

Rodzak,

Fine

et al. 2023

Wearable Technol.

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Back overuse injuries are a significant problem in the U.S. Army, responsible for nearly a quarter of musculoskeletal injuries. Back exosuits are wearable devices that relieve musculoskeletal strain, make lifting easier, and could potentially reduce Soldier overuse injuries. But published studies have not evaluated exosuits during realistic field operations to assess acceptability to Soldiers. We tested a back exosuit on field artillery Soldiers during a field training exercise. Afterward, Soldiers completed a survey to quantify their satisfaction, intent to use, and performance impact of the exosuit. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive: Approximately 90% of Soldiers reported that exosuits increased their ability to perform their duties, and 100% said that if the exosuit were further developed and made available to them, they would be likely to wear it. These numerical survey results indicated that exosuits can provide a practical and acceptable way to assist lifting and augment physical performance during realistic Army operations without interfering with other duties.

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“…We checked the fit, adjusted it as needed, and then explained how the exosuit worked. Participants were given 5 minutes to acclimate and practice using the exosuit, similar to timeframes we have previously used for demonstrating exosuit proof of concept (Slaughter et al, 2023;Yandell et al, 2022). Since we only built one prototype, participants were excluded from the study if the prototype (consisting of a Large-Regular size shirt and Medium-Regular size pants) did not fit.…”

Section: Laboratory Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating exosuit capabilities into clothing to make back relief accessible to workers unserved by existing exoskeletons: design and preliminary evaluation

Wolf,

Fine,

Ice

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background: Occupational exos (rigid exoskeletons and soft exosuits) are emerging technologies designed to reduce the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Existing occupational exos are standalone accessories worn on top of a user’s clothing. Purpose: Our objective was to demonstrate that back-assist exosuit capabilities can be integrated into regular clothing, which could make musculoskeletal relief accessible to more workers. Methods: We redesigned a previously validated accessory exosuit so it could integrate into a standard-issue U.S. Army uniform. The uniform-integrated exosuit prototype was low-profile (protruding <30 mm from the body), lightweight (adding 800 grams to the uniform), and could be donned/doffed like normal clothing. We demonstrated the functionality and feasibility of the prototype in lab testing (N=5) and in a case study (N=1) with a U.S. Army Soldier. Results: In lab testing (N=5), this exosuit provided 18-27 Nm of torque about the low back during lifting. Assistance could be engaged or disengaged one-handed in about half a second, and the exosuit did not restrict a user’s natural range of motion or cause discomfort. A case study (N=1) with a Soldier performing operationally relevant tasks demonstrated that this type of uniform-integrated exosuit may be well-suited for workers with duties that involve driving in vehicles and intermittent lifting. Conclusions: This work demonstrated that it was possible—after a substantial redesign of existing back exosuits—to integrate these capabilities into standard workwear with little change to the form factor, weight, range of motion, or comfort. This new sub-class of exosuit could be beneficial to workers who alternate between bending, lifting, and sitting tasks, or to those in customer- or patient-facing jobs where it is important for wearable technology to be discreet.

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Effect of a Back-Assist Exosuit on Logistics Worker Perceptions, Acceptance, and Muscle Activity

Cited by 10 publications

References 2 publications

Can back exosuits simultaneously increase lifting endurance and reduce musculoskeletal disorder risk?

Can back exosuits simultaneously increase lifting endurance and reduce musculoskeletal disorder risk?

Evaluation of U.S. Army Soldiers wearing a back exosuit during a field training exercise

Integrating exosuit capabilities into clothing to make back relief accessible to workers unserved by existing exoskeletons: design and preliminary evaluation

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