Solving the surgeon ergonomic crisis with surgical exosuit

Abstract

The progressive arm support exosuit can be a minimally intrusive device that laparoscopic surgeons wear to reduce pain and fatigue of surgery without significantly interfering with operative skills or manual dexterity.

Considerations for Industrial Use: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Active and Passive Upper Limb Exoskeletons on Physical Exposures

“…Sample representativeness may be an important consideration for future research probing the efficacy or effectiveness of industrial-use exoskeletons. There were two field studies that featured a specific working population (Liu et al, 2018;Smets, 2019). However, Liu et al (2018) only looked at the potential feasibility of use with respect to reduction in subjective feedback and discomfort measures in a cross-sectional study, whereas Smets (2019) was the only one to conduct a prospective long-term implementation study.…”

“…There was moderate evidence demonstrating that task completion times did not change when using a passive exoskeleton compared to without. In multiple self-paced tasks (carrying, dexterity, and drilling), as well as non-self-paced task (drilling), there was either no significant difference in completion time (Alabdulkarim & Nussbaum, 2019;Kim & Nussbaum, 2019;Liu et al, 2018;Theurel et al, 2018) or a significantly reduced completion time (Kim et al, 2018a). There was one exception, in which completion time was significantly greater with the use of an exoskeleton during a stacking task (Theurel et al, 2018).…”

“…Nine papers analyzed the effects of passive exoskeletons (Alabdulkarim & Nussbaum, 2019;Huysamen et al, 2018;Kim et al, 2018aKim et al, , 2018bKim & Nussbaum, 2019;Liu et al, 2018;Park & Cho, 2017;Smets, 2019;Theurel, Desbrosses, Roux, & Savescu, 2018). There was a moderate level of evidence supporting a significant decrease in muscle activity in the AD and middle deltoid (MD) when tasks were performed with the passive exoskeleton compared to without, based on controlled laboratory studies.…”

“…However, participants generally reported positive impressions of the exoskeleton when asked if they would use it during their daily work (86%, by Liu et al, 2018) or if they were in favor of further investigation (100%, by Smets, 2019). The most common themes for negative feedback were concerns expressed about comfort, including thermal comfort (Alabdulkarim & Nussbaum, 2019;Park & Cho, 2017;Smets, 2019), and that the device may hinder their work or their movement (Huysamen et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2018;Smets, 2019). Additionally, only 50% of the participants in one study rated the exoskeleton above the threshold for acceptable usability on a system usability scale (Huysamen et al, 2018).…”

“…Additionally, only 50% of the participants in one study rated the exoskeleton above the threshold for acceptable usability on a system usability scale (Huysamen et al, 2018). In several studies, participants were excluded or had to withdraw due to poor fit of the device (Liu et al, 2018;Park & Cho, 2017;Smets, 2019). To increase adoption, and as a result effectiveness as an intervention, exoskeleton designs need to be able to accommodate a larger range of the population.…”