Presentation
Effect of Grip Location and Object Mass on Upper Body Muscle Activity While Manipulating a Table Segments
DescriptionWhen designing products, engineers must consider tradeoffs among outcomes. Some outcomes may be relatively easy to quantify, however the effects of design on usability can be more challenging to establish. Specifically for objects that are moved or manipulated, there is little guidance on how mass and grip location affect usability. The aim of this research was to quantify the impact of object mass and hand grip location on upper limb and lower back muscle activity while manipulating a surgical table segment. As hypothesized, when an effect was present, aligning the hand grip with the center of mass and lower masses reduced peak muscle activity in all muscles. Whether a proximal or distal hand grip was more arduous differed by muscle. This work can better inform designers and ergonomists by quantifying the cost associated with mass and hand grip placement on upper body muscle effort.
Contributors
Event Type
Lecture
TimeWednesday, September 11th3:40pm - 4pm MST
LocationFLW Salon H
Occupational Ergonomics