Digital human modeling for ergonomics evaluation of laparoscopic surgery

Work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) have become one of the principal concerns for the occupational health departments of the organizations. Healthcare sector is one of the professions which top the list when it comes to number of workers having WMSDs. Among the various fields in healthcare domain, surgery is one of the most dynamic environments. The surgical procedures demand coordination of body, mind and brain. Operating rooms still remain neglected when it comes to ergonomic evaluation of workplaces. Among the various surgical procedures, laparoscopic surgery poses numerous ergonomic challenges due to the nature of the procedure and the surgical tools. Shoulder and neck pain has been the constant affliction for laparoscopic surgeons.;The increase in the statistics about WMSDs leads to the need for assessment of operating rooms. Earlier ergonomic studies for the assessment of laparoscopic surgery were performed in the usability labs or animal operating rooms which required special experimental set ups to imitate the surgical environment. The postural evaluations in the previous studies usually employed Electromyography (EMG), infra-red tracking or ultrasound techniques. This research endeavor proposes a novel approach of ergonomic assessment of laparoscopic surgery using Digital Human Modeling (DHM). DHM technology allowed performing the experiments and various simulations without actual surgeons or real experimental setup. The principal focus of this evaluation study was to understand the effect of gender, anthropometry, operating table height and the visual display position on the surgical team postures and the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) score. The experiments were performed by developing virtual environments in the DHM software Jack 5.2.;The analysis revealed that operating table height and visual display positions significantly affect surgical crew members' postures and eventually the RULA score. The results of these experiments were used for developing the guidelines for safe operating table height and safe field of vision. Based on the analysis and results suggestions for ergonomic interventions for the operating room were provided. This research endeavor devised an alternative methodology for the ergonomic evaluation of laparoscopic surgery that is more efficient and effective than other conventional methods. The study performed in this research demonstrated the ability of digital human modeling software to perform analysis of the operating room and provide the required solutions. The study also demonstrated that ergonomic studies and ergonomic interventions for operating rooms would reduce the risk of exposure to WMSDs. This would reduce the compensation claims, lost days at work and absenteeism as well as increase employee satisfaction. Thus, the application of ergonomic principles in healthcare sector would help make a safer, effective and efficient healthcare sector.