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Ergonomic Evaluation of a Novel Endoscope Grip Adaptor Using Surface Electromyography

Abstract

Gastroenterologists suffer from high incidence rates (37% - 89%) of work-related musculoskeletal injuries due to the rigorous and repetitive nature of performing endoscopy procedures. We designed and evaluated the efficacy of a novel endoscope grip adaptor (EndoGrip) in improving the ergonomics of endoscopy by using surface electromyography to assess the change in muscle fatigue and risk of injury as 7 subjects performed simulated endoscopy with the barehand, a competitor grip device, and the EndoGrip. Using the EndoGrip significantly reduced the mean fatigue in the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and flexor carpi radialis (FCR) muscles when compared to those of the barehand trials for most male subjects, with an average reduction of 11.7 % MVC and 17.3 % MVC, respectively. As for the female subjects, using the EndoGrip resulted in a significant increase in the mean fatigue for the FDI with an average increase of 37.7 % MVC and no change in the mean fatigue for the FCR. Both groups displayed an upward trend in the mean fatigue of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB), with an average increase of 16.6 % MVC for the male subjects and 44.4 % MVC for the female subjects. These identified trends resulting from the comparison of the barehand, competitor grip, and EndoGrip trials offered insight into the mechanisms under which the EndoGrip impacts the ergonomics of endoscopy as well as how the EndoGrip compares to a commercially available product.

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