BruBotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Human Physiology and Sports Physiotherapy Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
BruBotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Robotics and Multibody Mechanics Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Flanders Make, Brussels, Belgium.
Appl Ergon. 2023 Jan;106:103903. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103903. Epub 2022 Sep 20.
Despite the potential of occupational passive shoulder exoskeletons (PSEs) to relieve overhead work, limited insights in overhead work precision performance impedes large-scale adoption in industry.
To investigate the effect of PSE support on the reduction in task performance caused by physical fatigue.
This experiment consisted of a randomized, counterbalanced cross-over design comparing Exo4Work PSE support and no support, in a physically fatigued state and a control condition. Precision performance was determined using execution speed and drilling errors. Muscle activity and shoulder joint kinematics were recorded.
Fatigue altered task performance, shoulder joint kinematics, muscle activity and subjective experience during overhead work. The PSE support mitigated the fatigue-induced changes in shoulder kinematics. Additionally, a part of the fatigue-induced co-activation of shoulder stabilizing muscles was avoided when working with the PSE. The PSE support also reduced the activity of the anterior and medial deltoid.
Physical fatigue provokes compensatory movements and increased co-contraction of muscles when executing overhead work. These fatigue-induced alterations are generally believed to increase the overall musculoskeletal load. The support provided by the PSE reduced muscle activity of muscles working to elevate the arm, but also partially mitigated those fatigue-induced effects.
This study shows that the effect of PSE support on precision performance is limited, and suggested that, apart from the known effects of PSE support during overhead work, wearing the exoskeleton in a physically fatigued state may provide additional advantages.
尽管职业性被动肩部外骨骼（PSE）具有减轻头顶工作的潜力，但对头顶工作精度性能的了解有限，阻碍了其在工业中的大规模应用。
研究 PSE 支撑对因体力疲劳导致的任务绩效下降的影响。
本实验采用随机、平衡交叉设计，比较了 Exo4Work PSE 支撑和无支撑在体力疲劳和对照条件下的效果。使用执行速度和钻孔误差来确定精度性能。记录肌肉活动和肩关节运动学。
疲劳改变了头顶工作时的任务表现、肩关节运动学、肌肉活动和主观体验。PSE 支撑减轻了疲劳引起的肩关节运动学变化。此外，当使用 PSE 工作时，避免了部分因疲劳引起的肩部稳定肌肉的共同激活。PSE 支撑还降低了前三角肌和中三角肌的活动。
体力疲劳会引起执行头顶工作时的代偿性运动和肌肉的协同收缩增加。这些疲劳引起的改变通常被认为会增加整体肌肉骨骼负荷。PSE 的支撑减少了抬起手臂的肌肉的肌肉活动，但也部分减轻了这些疲劳引起的影响。
本研究表明，PSE 支撑对精度性能的影响是有限的，并表明除了 PSE 支撑在头顶工作中的已知效果外，在体力疲劳状态下佩戴外骨骼可能会提供额外的优势。
