Flexible Sensor-Based Biomechanical Evaluation of Low-Back Exoskeleton Use in Lifting

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chen, Yinong ; Mehta, Ranjana K. ; Reddy, Curran ; Yin, Wei ; Zhang, Xudong ; Zheng, Liying
• Description:
  This study aimed to establish an ambulatory field-friendly system based on miniaturised wireless flexible sensors for studying the biomechanics of human-exoskeleton interactions. Twelve healthy adults performed symmetric lifting with and without a passive low-back exoskeleton, while their movements were tracked using both a flexible sensor system and a conventional motion capture (MoCap) system synchronously. Novel algorithms were developed to convert the raw acceleration, gyroscope, and biopotential signals from the flexible sensors into kinematic and dynamic measures. Results showed that these measures were highly correlated with those obtained from the MoCap system and discerned the effects of the exoskeleton, including increased peak lumbar flexion, decreased peak hip flexion, and decreased lumbar flexion moment and back muscle activities. The study demonstrated the promise of an integrated flexible sensor-based system for biomechanics and ergonomics field studies as well as the efficacy of exoskeleton in relieving the low-back stress associated with manual lifting. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomechanical Phenomena Ergonomics Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Flexible Sensors Biomechanics Emerging Technology Exoskeletons Human-exoskeleton Interaction Lifting Low-back Exoskeleton Motion Studies Sensors Wearable Technologies
• ISSN:
  0014-0139
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  13 pdf pages
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067618
• Citation:
  Ergonomics 2024 Feb; 67(2):182-193
• Contact Point Address:
  Xudong Zhang, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University, 4077 Emerging Technologies Building, 3131 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3131, USA
• Email:
  xudongzhang@tamu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Ergonomics
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:89e24902f20af6c2e5614e4e593c4147ad55e7dc3768378795b3a12b5d7c1d03cb7bbeae07db27239303929a0aae92db7d010e0ac7d618e567722b453f8d83fd
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230823/cdc_230823_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.61 MB ]