Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33799947›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021

Equivalent Weight: Connecting Exoskeleton Effectiveness with Ergonomic Risk during Manual Material Handling.

Christian Di Natali, Giorgia Chini, Stefano Toxiri, Luigi Monica, Sara Anastasi, Francesco Draicchio, Darwin G Caldwell, Jesús Ortiz

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
6.1field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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  9. Article
  10. Exoskeletons: Contribution to Occupational Health and Safety.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
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  15. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Christian Di NataliAdvanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego, 30, 16163 Genova, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-7399-7399
Giorgia ChiniAdvanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego, 30, 16163 Genova, Italy.
Stefano ToxiriAdvanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego, 30, 16163 Genova, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-6104-7385
Luigi MonicaDepartment of Technological Innovation and Safety Equipment, INAIL, 00169 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5702-6912
Sara AnastasiDepartment of Technological Innovation and Safety Equipment, INAIL, 00169 Rome, Italy.
Francesco DraicchioDepartment of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, INAIL, Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy.
Darwin G CaldwellAdvanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego, 30, 16163 Genova, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-6233-9961
Jesús OrtizAdvanced Robotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego, 30, 16163 Genova, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-9475-1945
Italian Institute of Technology · ITIstituto Nazionale per l'Assicurazione Contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Occupational exoskeletons are becoming a concrete solution to mitigate work-related musculoskeletal disorders associated with manual material handling activities. The rationale behind this study is to search for common ground for exoskeleton evaluators to engage in dialogue with corporate Health & Safety professionals while integrating exoskeletons with their workers. This study suggests an innovative interpretation of the effect of a lower-back assistive exoskeleton and related performances that are built on the benefit delivered through reduced activation of the erector spinae musculature. We introduce the concept of "equivalent weight" as the weight perceived by the wearer, and use this to explore the apparent reduced effort needed when assisted by the exoskeleton. Therefore, thanks to this assistance, the muscles experience a lower load. The results of the experimental testing on 12 subjects suggest a beneficial effect for the back that corresponds to an apparent reduction of the lifted weight by a factor of 37.5% (the perceived weight of the handled objects is reduced by over a third). Finally, this analytical method introduces an innovative approach to quantify the ergonomic benefit introduced by the exoskeletons' assistance. This aims to assess the ergonomic risk to support the adoption of exoskeletons in the workplace.

Indexed as

Exoskeleton DeviceBiomechanical PhenomenaErgonomicsHumansassistive technologiesbiomechanical models—spinejob risk assessmentlow backmanual material handlingspine

Identifiers

PMID33799947
PMCPMC7967312
OpenAlexW3133952669

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.