We investigated the effects of the introduction of a robot suit at a geriatric health services facility on the transfer assistance movements of a caregiver.
One physical therapist with 10 yrs of clinical experience (male; age: 42 yrs; height: 168 cm; weight: 58 kg) wore the robot suit in a geriatric health services facility. we analyzed the transfer assistance movement from a wheelchair to a therapeutic bed. The subjects were three people (one male, two female, average age 81 years) who needed care level 4. We video-recorded the caregiver from the start to the end of movements and analyzed them using the motion analysis software (Kinovea). We then divided the whole movement in two sections, the first section of which is the movement until the care receiver just leaves his/her seat after the caregiver has placed both of his hands under the care receiver’s arm, and the second section is the movement until the care receiver sits again after departing the seats. The time spend in each section was analyzed, those were T1 and T2. In addition, we measured knee flexion and forward tilt angles on the sagittal plane. The movements at three occasional times were video-recorded and at 6 and 12 months after the first occasion.
The robot suit was effective for carrying out patient transfer, changing bedsheets, and oral care tasks, but it seemed to restrict the movements of the caregiver when the space of caregiving environment was small. On the other hand, the suit was not effective for carrying out toileting, bathing, and walking assistance tasks. The total time required to perform transfer assistance while wearing the suit compared with the time required without the suit was rather longer at the introduction and became shorter at 6 and 12 months after the experience. They mainly depended on the decrease of T1. The rate of T1 to the total time required (T1+T2) was 83.2% while wearing the suit, and 83.1% while not wearing the suit at the time of introduction. At 6 months, it was 30.8% and 55.8% respectively, and at 12 months, it was 62.1% and 78.8% respectively. T2 did not change apparently after the experience.
The findings also suggest that the time from standing from a seated position until sitting again was increased when using the robot suit. Thus, this study revealed important operational characteristics of a robot suit.
We recommended the need to organize daily tasks so that staff with back pain can effectively and comfortably use the suit and reduce the risk of inducing back pain.
Lumbar load reduction
Motion analysis
