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. 2023 Jan 9;20(2):1174.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021174.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Lift-Assist Device Regarding Caregiver Posture and Muscle Load for Transferring Tasks

Yong-Ku Kong  1 , Kyeong-Hee Choi  2 , Sang-Soo Park  1 , Jin-Woo Shim  1 , Hyun-Ho Shim  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Lift-Assist Device Regarding Caregiver Posture and Muscle Load for Transferring Tasks

Yong-Ku Kong et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to confirm the effect of a lift-assist device when performing a patient-lifting task. Ten working caregivers participated in this experiment, and lifting patients from bed to wheelchair (B2C) and wheelchair to bed (C2B) was performed for manual care (MC) and lift-assist device (robot) care (RC). EMG sensors and IMU motion sensors were attached as indicators of the assistive device's effectiveness. EMG was attached to the right side of eight muscles (UT, MD, TB, BB, ES, RF, VA, and TA), and flexion/extension angles of the neck, shoulder, back, and knee were collected using motion sensors. As a result of the analysis, both B2C and C2B showed higher muscle activities in MC than RC. When using a lift-assist device to lift patients, the RC method showed reductions in muscle activities compared to MC. As a result of the work-posture analysis, both the task type and the task phase exhibited pronounced reductions in shoulder, back, and knee ROM (range of motion) compared to those of MC. Therefore, based on the findings of this study, a lift-assist device is recommended for reducing the physical workloads of caregivers while performing patient-lifting tasks.

Keywords: caregiver; electromyography; lifting task; motion capture; work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structures of B2C sub-tasks for both MC and RC.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structures of C2B sub-tasks for both MC and RC.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Locations of EMG sensor attachments.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Locations of motion-capture sensor attachments.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Lifting care task (Left: MC, Right: RC).
Figure 6
Figure 6
The effect of task type on each muscle activity during B2C. Asterisk (*) indicates that the difference between means is statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 7
Figure 7
The effect of phases on each muscle activity during B2C. Asterisk (*) and the alphabet capital letter (A and B) indicate that the difference between means is statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Interaction effect of task type and phase on VM & TA muscle activities during B2C.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The effect of task type on each muscle activity during C2B. Asterisk (*) indicates that the difference between means is statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 10
Figure 10
The effect of phases on each muscle activity during C2B. Asterisk (*) and the alphabet capital letter (A and B) indicate that the difference between means is statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Interaction effect of task type and phase on VM & TA muscle activities during C2B.
Figure 12
Figure 12
The effect of task type on body posture during B2C. Asterisk (*) indicates that the difference between means is statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 13
Figure 13
The effect of phase on body posture during B2C. Asterisk (*) and the alphabet capital letter (A and B) indicate that the difference between means is statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Interaction effect of task type and phase on the ROM of Knee (B2C).
Figure 15
Figure 15
The effect of task type on body posture during C2B. Asterisk (*) indicates that the difference between means is statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 16
Figure 16
The effect of phase on body posture during C2B. Asterisk (*) and the alphabet capital letter (A and B) indicate that the difference between means is statistically significant at p < 0.05.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Interaction effect of task type and phase on the ROM of the Neck & Knee (C2B).
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