Benchmarking commercially available soft and rigid passive back exoskeletons for an industrial workplace.

IF 3.4 Q2 ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL Wearable technologies Pub Date : 2024-02-15 eCollection Date: 2024-01-01 DOI:10.1017/wtc.2024.2
Mohamed I Mohamed Refai, Alejandro Moya-Esteban, Lynn van Zijl, Herman van der Kooij, Massimo Sartori
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Abstract

Low-back pain is a common occupational hazard for industrial workers. Several studies show the advantages of using rigid and soft back-support passive exoskeletons and exosuits (exos) to reduce the low-back loading and risk of injury. However, benefits of using these exos have been shown to be task-specific. Therefore, in this study, we developed a benchmarking approach to assess exos for an industrial workplace at Hankamp Gears B.V. We assessed two rigid (Laevo Flex, Paexo back) and two soft (Auxivo Liftsuit 1.0, and Darwing Hakobelude) exos for tasks resembling the workplace. We measured the assistive moment provided by each exo and their respective influence on muscle activity as well as the user's perception of comfort and exertion. Ten participants performed four lifting tasks (Static hold, Asymmetric, Squat, and Stoop), while their electromyography and subjective measures were collected. The two rigid exos provided the largest assistance during the Dynamic tasks. Reductions in erector spinae activity were seen to be task-specific, with larger reductions for the two rigid exos. Overall, Laevo Flex offered a good balance between assistive moments, reductions in muscle activity, as well as user comfort and reductions in perceived exertion. Thus, we recommend benchmarking exos for intended use in the industrial workplace. This will hopefully result in a better adoption of the back-support exoskeletons in the workplace and help reduce low-back pain.

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为工业工作场所的市售软质和硬质被动式背部外骨骼设定基准。
腰痛是产业工人常见的职业危害。多项研究表明,使用硬质和软质背部支撑被动外骨骼和外骨骼防护服(exos)具有降低腰背负荷和受伤风险的优势。然而,使用这些外骨骼的好处已被证明是针对特定任务的。因此,在这项研究中,我们开发了一种基准方法,用于评估 Hankamp Gears B.V. 公司工业工作场所的外骨骼。我们评估了两款刚性(Laevo Flex、Paexo back)和两款软性(Auxivo Liftsuit 1.0 和 Darwing Hakobelude)外装在类似工作场所的任务中的使用情况。我们测量了每种外衣提供的辅助力矩、它们各自对肌肉活动的影响以及使用者对舒适度和用力的感知。十名参与者分别完成了四项移位任务(静态保持、不对称、下蹲和弯腰),同时收集了他们的肌电图和主观测量数据。在动态任务中,两个硬质外容器提供的帮助最大。竖脊肌活动的减少与具体任务有关,两种硬质外骨骼的减少幅度更大。总体而言,Laevo Flex 在辅助力矩、肌肉活动减少、用户舒适度和感知消耗减少之间实现了良好的平衡。因此,我们建议对工业工作场所中预期使用的外骨骼进行基准测试。这将有望使背部支撑外骨骼在工作场所得到更好的应用,并有助于减少腰背疼痛。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
5.80
自引率
0.00%
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0
审稿时长
11 weeks
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