Ergonomic considerations are paramount in surgery to promote surgeon wellbeing and career longevity. Surgeons are only beginning to understand how to optimize ergonomics. As a clinical research fellow, I was lucky to work with Drs. Joseph Serletti and Natalie Plana to develop a project proposal to comprehensively measure ergonomics as it relates to microsurgery. This presentation is a quick literature review on the topic and how ergonomics in plastic surgery can be explored in the future.
We proposed this work to, and were funded by, the Center for Human Appearance with a grant of $20,000!
The key to objective ergonomic assessment is the use of Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) which consist of a gyroscope and accelerometer (and occasionally a magnetometer) to measure motion and angles of the body. This allows assessors to understand mechanical stress placed upon various joints and muscles of the body. IMU measurements are widely used in in blue collar industries (i.e. construction) to optimize ergonomics. We want to take this principle into the operating room. To do so, we will use our grant to purchase the ViSafe IMU system from DorsaVi.
While objective assessment is important, we know ergonomics vary widely with existing musculoskeletal disease, overall fitness, and daily fatigue. That is why a comprehensive assessment of ergonomics requires measurement of all these indicators to understand what factors play into good ergonomic form.
Stay tuned as we hope to share the results of our investigation!
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