래칫-기어 기반 고정 메커니즘을 이용한 수술자 대상 와이어 구동 목 보조 웨어러블 장치의 설계

Abstract

It has been proven through several biomechanical research that surgeons are exposed to poor working posture during long hours of surgery. While such ergonomic issue is known to cause severe musculoskeletal discomfort in their upper body, especially neck and shoulder, there has not been enough solution for surgeons to alleviate the discomfort. In this research, we developed a novel wire-driven neck supporting wearable device, worn by surgeons, to reduce neck muscle fatigue during surgery. This device connects a cable to surgeon’s headlight in order to support the weight of the head during neck flexion. The head motion won’t be restricted until the cable is fixed by the ratchet-gear-based locking mechanism which operates after the user remains static for three seconds. Once the cable is fixed, the user could relax their neck muscles as the cable will replace their function by pulling the head towards the back. The user can simply unlock the cable by raising his head as the ratchet-gear-based locking mechanism will only prevent the head from dropping. The performance of our device will be validated through clinical trials, with sEMG sensors attached to rear neck muscles, by monitoring the reduction of neck muscle fatigue during surgery.