Publication: Cobot – assisted rehabilitation: reducing work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk on physiotherapists
| datacite.subject.fos | oecd::Engineering and technology::Mechanical engineering::Mechanical engineering | |
| dc.contributor.author | Wong Yong Jie | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-09-12T01:33:19Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-09-12T01:33:19Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-07-01 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are prevalent among physiotherapists due to the physically demanding work. This study evaluates the efficacy of collaborative robot (cobot) in mitigating potential threat of WMSD posed by physiotherapists during manual rehabilitation sessions. Seven male simulated physiotherapists were recruited to perform passive range of motion (PROM) tasks for lower extremity rehabilitation with and without cobot’s assistance. A UR16e cobot held patients' limbs during exercises through the utilization of a custom-made end effector. Full body motion tracking with the Xsens wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) system analysed the motion and body segment activities of the simulated physiotherapists. Ergonomic risks were assessed using the automated Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) tool, which adopts kinematic data from the IMUs. Muscle activation was assessed via surface electromyography (sEMG) from iMotion 9.0, with bipolar Ag/AgCl electrodes on the erector spinae and bicep brachii muscles. L5-S1 lumbar loading was estimated using the 3D Static Strength Prediction Program (3D SSPP), with data synchronized from a Bertec force plate and Xsens system. Statistical analysis, including the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test and Spearman’s Correlation, was conducted using IBM SPSS version 27. Results showed significant reductions in muscle activation with cobot assistance: left bicep brachii activation during hip abduction and adduction decreased from 63.95% ± 26.10 %MVIC to 6.09% ± 5.13 %MVIC, and right erector spinae activation during hip flexion decreased from 54.97% ± 27.82 %MVIC to 8.35% ± 5.03 %MVIC. REBA scores decreased significantly from 8.57 ± 0.74 to 3.79 ± 0.39 during hip flexion and from 8.77 ± 1.50 to 3.68 ± 0.36 during knee flexion and extension tasks. The most significant reduction in lumbar compression forces (L5-S1) was from 3276.57 ± 109.90 N to 1176.29 ± 40.87 N during knee flexion and extension tasks. All p-values were < 0.05, indicating significant differences between approaches. In conclusion, the cobot effectively reduces the risk of WMSDs in physiotherapists during lower-limb rehabilitation. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://erepo.usm.my/handle/123456789/22595 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.title | Cobot – assisted rehabilitation: reducing work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk on physiotherapists | |
| dc.type | Resource Types::text::report::research report | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| oairecerif.author.affiliation | Universiti Sains Malaysia |