Kim, Joseph

Surgeons are at high risk of developing long-term Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) due to awkward sustained postures. Passive spine-supporting exoskeletons are a potential intervention to improve posture and reduce fatigue. The NekSpine ® was evaluated by 21 surgeons (15 male) across two hospital sites within a quaternary academic hospital system. Each surgeon performed at least two comparable procedures, one with the exoskeleton and one without. Surgeons completed pre- and postoperative surveys assessing NASA-TLX workload, usability, body-part discomfort, overall fatigue, and workflow disruptions. Eighty-two cases were evaluated (43 exoskeleton cases). Compared with baseline cases, surgeons reported reduced neck and upper back discomfort and lower overall fatigue when using the exoskeleton. The NekSpine ® exoskeleton may reduce spinal discomfort and fatigue during surgery, supporting its potential as an ergonomic intervention for surgeons.

Background Surgeons face elevated risks of musculoskeletal disorders due to prolonged operating times, awkward postures, and repetitive tasks, which can impair performance and well-being. Microbreaks have emerged as a potential ergonomic intervention to reduce discomfort and fatigue during surgery. Objective The main goal of this study was to investigate and compare the intraoperative usability and effectiveness of two break scheduling strategies using the OR-Stretch TM Web-App. Furthermore, surgeons’ feedback on the primary barriers to implementation of the OR-Stretch Web-App was recorded. Methods This study used a randomized, within-subjects crossover design. Fourteen surgeons (eight females) performed three surgical procedures with the following microbreak schedules; (1) microbreaks every 30 min with an optional ten-minute snooze (Break-30), (2) microbreaks every 60 min with an optional ten-minute snooze (Break-60), or (3) no microbreaks (Baseline). Outcomes were measured using self-reported subjective surveys (e.g., discomfort, fatigue, workload, and usability). Results Surgeons found both Break-30 and Break-60 conditions aided physical performance, mental focus, body pain/discomfort, and level of fatigue (self-reported improvement between 28.6% and 78.6%). No significant differences were observed in surgeons’ subjective evaluations of the Break-30 and Break-60 conditions; however, the data suggest that Break-60 is preferable to the Break-30 condition. Conclusions This study provides evidence supporting the OR-Stretch Web-App as a potential surgical ergonomic intervention. However, enhancing the Web-App's user-friendliness and developing strategies to synchronize microbreaks with appropriate times during surgeries, to avoid disrupting the surgical workflow, are critical areas for future studies.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of an intraoperative exoskeleton that supports surgeons’ heads, necks, and backs to reduce neck discomfort. Background: Surgeons are at a considerable risk of developing neck pain and related injuries. Passive exoskeletons are a potential intervention to support surgeons’ body parts and alleviate strain and discomfort. Methods: The NekSpine (a passive neck exoskeleton) was trialed on 12 surgeons (7 males and 5 females) across 6 specialties. Each surgeon performed 4 surgical procedures, 2 with the NekSpine (exoskeleton) and 2 without (baseline). Exoskeleton and baseline surgeries were paired primarily by surgical procedure and secondarily by duration. Surgeons completed surveys that included the NASA-TLX and usability questions before and after surgical procedures to evaluate body part discomfort, overall fatigue, workload, and potential disruptions to the surgical workflow. Surgeons also wore inertial measurement units to objectively record their upper arms, neck, and torso postures. Results: Use of the exoskeleton yielded significant decreases in discomfort in the neck, left shoulder, right shoulder, and left arm. Reductions in percent surgical duration in risk 4 (extreme risk postures) coupled with increases spent in risk 2 (moderate risk postures) for the neck and torso were noted. Surgeons reported overall favorable usability results with the exoskeleton not interfering with the surgical workflow, and most stated that they would use the exoskeleton again. Conclusions: The NekSpine is a promising intervention to alleviate surgeons’ neck discomfort and improve their neck and torso postures.

Burnout is a challenging issue among surgeons. Many factors have been linked to burnout, such as an inadequate work-life balance, high stress levels, and the frequency of on-call, overnight shifts. There is a lack of research on factors in surgeons’ daily lives associated with burnout. This study observed trauma surgeons with daily surveys assessing stress and fatigue over 9 days (6 day shifts, three night shifts). This study analyzes surgeons’ stress and fatigue levels. The study population was compared to the population of US critical care surgeons to ensure representativeness based on age, sex, and rates of burnout. Overnight shifts showed high stress and fatigue levels relative to off days, day shifts, the 3 days before, and the 3 days after overnight shifts. Days performing surgery were also more stressful and fatiguing than non-surgery work days and off days. Fatigue and stress levels were minimized during off days.

This study provided additional evidence to support the OR-Stretch Web- App as a potential ergonomic intervention in the operating room. Overall, the ORStretch Web-App was beneficial to surgeons’ physical performance, mental focus, and discomfort. However, improving the Web-App to be user-friendly, and developing strategies to align the microbreaks with appropriate time spots during surgeries to not interrupt surgical workflow are among the key factors that need attention. Additionally, no significant differences in the surgeons’ subjective evaluation of the Break-30 and Break-60 scheduling strategies were found. However, the data and surgeons’ feedback implied that taking microbreaks every 30 min (Break-30 condition) may not be ideal, especially during long or complicated surgical procedures.

Exoskeletons are ergonomic devices that can support workers to improve performance and worker safety. This study created an apparatus that simulated a head-and-neck exoskeleton designed for surgeons to test the effects of varying tension forces on muscle activation (splenius capitis, splenius cervices, and erector spinae), body part discomfort, dexterity, cognition, and overall usability of the device. Eight participants were involved in twelve trials over two days and held static postures (looking down at 45° or 90°) for 20 minutes with 10-minute breaks between trials. Six trials utilized tension forces, which were recorded every two minutes and then averaged for each trial. A bivariate regression analysis ( on each metric vs. average tension forces demonstrated that increasing tension forces led to decreased muscle activity of the left splenius capitis, change in general body pain, change in neck discomfort, and the rate of discomfort developing, and improved usability scores.

Despite advances in medical technology, intraoperative adverse events (IAE) continue to occur in hospital’s complex systems. Current approaches to understanding and mitigating IAEs rely on retrospective data analyses to recognize the series of events leading to an IAE. This paper discusses current challenges and highlights the potential of the Operating Room Blackbox (ORBB) system use to enhance patient safety.

Ames, IA Cardiac sonographers suffer from high prevalence of work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal pain due to awkward postures and fatigue accumulation. Sonographers can choose either left- or right-hand scanning, or alternate between both, however, the impact of each scanning technique on the upper extremity muscles remains unknown. Four ambidextrous cardiac sonographers performed between four to six cardiac scans using left- and right-hand while postural and muscle activity were collected from specific muscles on the upper extremities. A comparison of the posture showed that apart from forearm pitch and 90 th percentile upper arm deviation, upper extremity postures between the two scanning techniques did not differ significantly. Furthermore, while right-hand scanning (RHS) appeared to induce slightly higher muscle activity in the deltoids compared to left-hand scanning (LHS), the difference between the two techniques was not significant. We recommend alternating between these two techniques to distribute muscle stress evenly to prevent muscle overuse.