Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Lift-Assist Device Regarding Caregiver Posture and Muscle Load for Transferring Tasks

Abstract

The aim of this study was to confirm the effect of a lift-assist device when performing a patient-lifting task. Ten working caregivers participated in this experiment, and lifting patients from bed to wheelchair (B2C) and wheelchair to bed (C2B) was performed for manual care (MC) and lift-assist device (robot) care (RC). EMG sensors and IMU motion sensors were attached as indicators of the assistive device’s effectiveness. EMG was attached to the right side of eight muscles (UT, MD, TB, BB, ES, RF, VA, and TA), and flexion/extension angles of the neck, shoulder, back, and knee were collected using motion sensors. As a result of the analysis, both B2C and C2B showed higher muscle activities in MC than RC. When using a lift-assist device to lift patients, the RC method showed reductions in muscle activities compared to MC. As a result of the work-posture analysis, both the task type and the task phase exhibited pronounced reductions in shoulder, back, and knee ROM (range of motion) compared to those of MC. Therefore, based on the findings of this study, a lift-assist device is recommended for reducing the physical workloads of caregivers while performing patient-lifting tasks.