Decrease of force capabilities as an index of upper limb fatigue

The aim of the study was to assess upper limb fatigue on the basis of the force change index (FCI), which expresses changes in developed force, and to demonstrate that this index differentiates muscle fatigue of the upper limb depending on external load. The study was performed on ten young men in 12 conditions of external load. Ten conditions characterized repetitive work in a two-period cycle, in which both or one of the periods were loaded, and two conditions characterized continuous work with constant load. The participants tried to maintain hand-grip force at an imposed level during a determined time in the standard upper limb posture. Changes in values of recorded force exerted during successive cycles were approximated by a regression function. In most cases there was a strong correlation between the measurement data and the logarithmic regression curve. However, several cases of lower external load showed absence of such correlation. In 75% of the cases, there were statistically significant differences between the values of FCI calculated for individual conditions of external load. That means that FCI not only expresses muscle fatigue quantitatively but also points to the differences in upper limb fatigue resulting from differences in the external load. The study results have shown that the developed index (FCI) can be applied for fatigue assessment and discrimination with a more sophisticated model of a repetitive task than just a simple two-period work and rest model.     

The influence of task design on upper limb muscles fatigue during low-load repetitive work: A systematic review

Ergonomic interventions such as increased scheduled breaks or job rotation have been proposed to reduce upper limb muscle fatigue in repetitive low-load work. This review was performed to summarize and analyze the studies investigating the effect of job rotation and work-rest schemes, as well as, work pace, cycle time and duty cycle, on upper limb muscle fatigue. The effects of these work organization factors on subjective fatigue or discomfort were also analyzed. This review was based on relevant articles published in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. The studies included in this review were performed in humans and assessed muscle fatigue in upper limbs. 14 articles were included in the systematic review. Few studies were performed in a real work environment and the most common methods used to assess muscle fatigue were surface electromyography (EMG). No consistent results were found related to the effects of job rotation on muscle activity and subjective measurements of fatigue. Rest breaks had some positive effects, particularly in perceived discomfort. The increase in work pace reveals a higher muscular load in specific muscles. The duration of experiments and characteristics of participants appear to be the factors that most have influenced the results. Future research should be focused on the improvement of the experimental protocols and instrumentation, in order to the outcomes represent adequately the actual working conditions.Relevance to industryIntroducing more physical workload variation in low-load repetitive work is considered an effective ergonomic intervention against muscle fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders in industry. Results will be useful to identify the need of future research, which will eventually lead to the adoption of best industrial work practices according to the workers capabilities.     

Modified differential evolution approach for optimization of planar parallel manipulators force capabilities

The global optimization problem is not easy to solve and is still an open challenge for researchers since an analytical optimal solution is difficult to obtain even for relatively simple application problems. Conventional deterministic numerical algorithms tend to stop the search in local minimum nearest to the input starting point, mainly when the optimization problem presents nonlinear, non-convex and non-differential functions, multimodal and nonlinear. Nowadays, the use of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) to solve optimization problems is a common practice due to their competitive performance on complex search spaces. EAs are well known for their ability to deal with nonlinear and complex optimization problems. The primary advantage of EAs over other numerical methods is that they just require the objective function values, while properties such as differentiability and continuity are not necessary. In this context, the differential evolution (DE), a paradigm of the evolutionary computation, has been widely used for solving numerical global optimization problems in continuous search space. DE is a powerful population-based stochastic direct search method. DE simulates natural evolution combined with a mechanism to generate multiple search directions based on the distribution of solutions in the current population. Among DE advantages are its simple structure, ease of use, speed, and robustness, which allows its application on several continuous nonlinear optimization problems. However, the performance of DE greatly depends on its control parameters, such as crossover rate, mutation factor, and population size and it often suffers from being trapped in local optima. Conventionally, users have to determine the parameters for problem at hand empirically. Recently, several adaptive variants of DE have been proposed. In this paper, a modified differential evolution (MDE) approach using generation-varying control parameters (mutation factor and crossover rate) is proposed and evaluated. The proposed MDE presents an efficient strategy to improve the search performance in preventing of premature convergence to local minima. The efficiency and feasibility of the proposed MDE approach is demonstrated on a force optimization problem in Robotics, where the force capabilities of a planar 3-RRR parallel manipulator are evaluated considering actuation limits and different assembly modes. Furthermore, some comparison results of MDE approach with classical DE to the mentioned force optimization problem are presented and discussed.     

Sex-specific effects of muscle fatigue on upper body kinematics and discomfort during a repetitive point task performed on a sit-stand stool

When performing repetitive work-like tasks while standing, people may develop leg discomfort and adapt their whole-body motion to arm fatigue. How these responses are affected when working while sitting on a sit-stand stool is unknown. Asymptomatic young adults (N = 29, 15 females) performed a repetitive pointing task sitting on a sit-stand stool, while whole-body kinematics was recorded. Results showed no leg discomfort increase with fatigue. The upper body leaned more backwards and towards the non-reaching side. Variability increased at the seat (p = 0.002), shoulder (p = 0.001) and elbow (p = 0.005) but was preserved at wrist (p = 0.058) and endpoint (p = 0.088). Participants who were more fatigable increased seat variability (males, p = 0.01) or seat range of motion (females, p = 0.022) after fatigue. The sit-stand stool contributed to the response to arm fatigue, although females and males developed different strategies. The maintained endpoint variability and leg discomfort suggest that the sit-stand stool could be recommended as an alternate workstation with minimal disruption to work performance or worker discomfort.     

The Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau performance index as an indicator of upper limb risk assessment expertise

Ergonomists and many other professionals apply ergonomics principles to musculoskeletal health problems. This study examines whether there are differences when it comes to judgement expertise concerning upper limb disorders (ULDs) between ergonomists and those with less ergonomics training. The Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) performance index combines judgement consistency with discrimination into one CWS index. Fifty-eight professionals working in the musculoskeletal health area, from four different professions, judged the likelihood of staff complaining of ULDs in a number of written work scenarios containing ULD risk factors. A student group (n = 148) taking an introductory ergonomics module was used as a reference. The ergonomists scored higher on the CWS index than all of the other groups, performing significantly better than all but the occupational health advisors. Performance improved with increased training level but not with experience. This study suggests that ergonomists are quantifiably different from other ergonomics advisors in their judgement performance in this context. Given the global cost of musculoskeletal disorders, assessing the expertise of those giving ergonomics advice for the management of musculoskeletal health is of great significance. This study presents a method for assessing judgement performance in ULD risk assessment, an important part of musculoskeletal health management.     

基于力阻抗模型的上肢康复机器人交互控制系统设计

传统上肢康复机器人交互控制系统受到奇异位形影响,导致系统控制精准度较低,为此提出基于力阻抗模型的上肢康复机器人交互控制系统;设计上肢康复机器人交互控制系统结构,选取双串口12CSA60S2系列单片机作为下位机控制核心模块,利用椎齿轮改变驱动力方向,设计机械臂肘部结构,通过同步带传动,将器件隐藏于空手柄中;设计机械臂腕部结构,满足临床康复时上肢患者站姿与坐姿训练需求;选择箔式应变片BF350力传感器,设计电阻应变片桥接电路,处理传输信号;构建机器人目标阻抗模型,设计基于力阻抗控制策略,调节位置、速度和关节;为改善奇异位形情况,在奇异位形附近关节角速度指令直接由各个关节力矩阻尼控制得到,实现角速度精准输出,完成系统控制;由实验结果可知,该系统直线运动位置、旋转关节位置和伸缩关节位置跟踪结果与标准值基本一致,满足系统设计需求。     

Sensitivity,reliability and the effects of diurnal variation on a test battery of field usable upper limb fatigue measures

Abstract

Fatigue has been linked to deficits in production quality and productivity and, if of long duration, work-related musculoskeletal disorders. It may thus be a useful risk indicator and design and evaluation tool. However, there is limited information on the test–retest reliability, the sensitivity and the effects of diurnal fluctuation on field usable fatigue measures. This study reports on an evaluation of 11 measurement tools and their 14 parameters. Eight measures were found to have test–retest ICC values greater than 0.8. Four measures were particularly responsive during an intermittent fatiguing condition. However, two responsive measures demonstrated rhythmic behaviour, with significant time effects from 08:00 to mid-afternoon and early evening. Action tremor, muscle mechanomyography and perceived fatigue were found to be most reliable and most responsive; but additional analytical considerations might be required when interpreting daylong responses of MMG and action tremor.

Practitioner Summary: This paper presents findings from test–retest and daylong reliability and responsiveness evaluations of 11 fatigue measures. This paper suggests that action tremor, muscle mechanomyography and perceived fatigue were most reliable and most responsive. However, mechanomyography and action tremor may be susceptible to diurnal changes.     

Supporting the creative drive: investigating paralinguistic voice as a mode of interaction for artists with upper limb disabilities

For people with upper limb disabilities visual art is an important activity that allows for expression of individuality and independence. They show remarkable endurance, patience and determination to adapt their remaining capabilities to create visual art. There are significant advantages of digital technologies in assisting artists with upper limb disabilities. Paralinguistic voice recognition technologies have proven to be a particularly promising mode of interaction. Despite these benefits, technological support for people with upper limb disabilities to create visual art is scarce. This paper reports on a number of case studies of several artists with upper limb disabilities. These case studies illustrate the struggles they face to be creative and also show the significant advantages of digital technologies in assisting such artists. An investigation into people’s ability to use the volume of their voice to control cursor movement to create drawings on the screen is also reported. With motivation, training and practise, use of volume to control drawing tasks shows great promise. It is believed that paralinguistic voice has wider implications beyond assisting artists with upper limb disabilities, such as: an alternative mode of interaction for disabled people to perform tasks other than creating visual art, alternative mode of interaction for hands busy environments and as a voice training system for people with speech impairments.