IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i23p4792-d292247.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Biomechanical and Metabolic Effectiveness of an Industrial Exoskeleton for Overhead Work

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Schmalz

    (Clinical Research & Services/Biomechanics, Otto Bock SE & Co. KGaA, 37075 Göttingen, Germany)

  • Jasmin Schändlinger

    (Private University of Applied Sciences, 37075 Göttingen, Germany)

  • Marvin Schuler

    (Private University of Applied Sciences, 37075 Göttingen, Germany)

  • Jonas Bornmann

    (Global Research, Otto Bock SE & Co. KGaA, 37115 Duderstadt, Germany)

  • Benjamin Schirrmeister

    (Global Research, Otto Bock SE & Co. KGaA, 37115 Duderstadt, Germany)

  • Andreas Kannenberg

    (Clinical Research & Services, Otto Bock Healthcare LP, Austin, TX 78758, USA)

  • Michael Ernst

    (Clinical Research & Services/Biomechanics, Otto Bock SE & Co. KGaA, 37075 Göttingen, Germany)

Abstract

Overhead work activities can lead to shoulder pain and serious musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD), such as rotator cuff injury and degeneration. Recently developed exoskeletons show promising results in supporting workers in such activities. In this study, a novel exoskeleton was investigated for two different overhead tasks with twelve participants. To investigate the effects of the device, electromyographic (EMG) signals of different shoulder and adjacent muscles as well as kinematic and metabolic parameters were analyzed with and without the exoskeleton. The mean EMG amplitude of all evaluated muscles was significantly reduced when the exoskeleton was used for the overhead tasks. This was accompanied by a reduction in both heart rate and oxygen rate. The kinematic analysis revealed small changes in the joint positions during the tasks. This study demonstrated the biomechanical and metabolic benefits of an exoskeleton designed to support overhead work activities. The results suggest improved physiological conditions and an unloading effect on the shoulder joint and muscles which are promising indicators that the exoskeleton may be a good solution to reduce shoulder WMSD among workers who carry out overhead tasks on a regular basis.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Schmalz & Jasmin Schändlinger & Marvin Schuler & Jonas Bornmann & Benjamin Schirrmeister & Andreas Kannenberg & Michael Ernst, 2019. "Biomechanical and Metabolic Effectiveness of an Industrial Exoskeleton for Overhead Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-12, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:23:p:4792-:d:292247
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/23/4792/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/23/4792/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bastien Arnoux & Anaïs Farr & Vincent Boccara & Nicolas Vignais, 2023. "Evaluation of a Passive Upper Limb Exoskeleton in Healthcare Workers during a Surgical Instrument Cleaning Task," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-12, February.
    2. Ci-Jyun Liang & Marvin H. Cheng, 2023. "Trends in Robotics Research in Occupational Safety and Health: A Scientometric Analysis and Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-21, May.
    3. Simona Del Ferraro & Tiziana Falcone & Alberto Ranavolo & Vincenzo Molinaro, 2020. "The Effects of Upper-Body Exoskeletons on Human Metabolic Cost and Thermal Response during Work Tasks—A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-25, October.
    4. Yang Liu & Xiaoling Li & Jiarui Lai & Aibin Zhu & Xiaodong Zhang & Ziming Zheng & Huijin Zhu & Yueyang Shi & Long Wang & Zhangyi Chen, 2021. "The Effects of a Passive Exoskeleton on Human Thermal Responses in Temperate and Cold Environments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Yi-Lang Chen & Yan-Ting Zhong & Bang-Nan Liou & Chih-Chuan Yang, 2020. "Musculoskeletal Disorders Symptoms among Taiwanese Bakery Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-12, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:23:p:4792-:d:292247. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.