The Effects of Finger Force and Visual Distractions on the Measurement of Thermal Perception Thresholds

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrew, Michael E. ; Dong, Ren G. ; Schopper AW ; Smutz WP ; Welcome DE
• Description:
  The thermal perception threshold (TPT) test has been used by several investigators to measure the decreased sensitivity of the mechanoreceptors in persons exposed to hand-transmitted vibration. The measurement of increased TPT at the fingertips is considered an alternative approach for the objective early detection of vibration induced sensorineural disorders, which may be the first sign of hand-arm vibration syndrome. An aesthesiometer is usually used to measure the TPT. The finger force required to keep the fingertip in contact with the temperature-controlled plate for the test has been either totally uncontrolled or controlled via visual feedback to a test subject. It is unclear whether the finger force should be controlled. If controlled with visual feedback, the test subjects may become distracted by having to watch the force meter during the test and this might adversely affect the assessment of the thermal threshold. To improve the test method, the specific aim of this study was to test the hypotheses that (a) the method for controlling finger force during the test would affect the magnitude of the TPT's, and (b) that variation in finger force levels would affect the magnitudes of the TPTs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Protective Clothing Safety Vibration
• Keywords:
  Arm-injuries Exposure-assessment Hand-injuries Hand-protection Sensitivity-testing Vibration-disease Vibration-effects Vibration-exposure
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Nevada ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  149-150
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20025588
• Citation:
  10th International Conference on Hand-Arm-Vibration, June 2004, Las Vegas, Nevada. 2004 Jun; :149-150
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  10th International Conference on Hand-Arm-Vibration, June 2004, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:844dac51f5c8dd7fe5fd61b6c97dbb1f81abdc77679159354c09b5786ebc036ebd44c2dc878b220002467dfcc7f2beee94fa8f98dd3422846729d100fabab813
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/196880/cdc_196880_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 328.17 KB ]