Skip to main content

Biomechanical Risk Assessment of Pathologists in the Morgue

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Advances in Social and Occupational Ergonomics (AHFE 2018)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 792))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to research the risk of biomechanical overload in pathologists during autopsies performed in dissection room. During autopsies, operators are exposed both to the risks of manual handling, in transferring the cadaver from the trolley to the dissection table (and vice versa), and to awkward postures during the incision and opening of the cadaver to examine the organs. Following task analysis, we decided to use, according to the task, the methods that best describes it and include its peculiar characteristics. The methods used were: the REBA protocol, 3DSSPP software and surface electromyography. The results show that, in almost all the tasks investigated and with all the methods used, there was a medium-high risk of biomechanical overload. In the light of these results, we suggest possible intervention strategies for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) during the performance of autopsies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Fritzsche, F.R., Ramach, C., Soldini, D., Caduff, R., Tinguely, M., Cassoly, E., Moch, H., Stewart, A.: Occupational health risks of pathologists–results from a nationwide online questionnaire in Switzerland. BMC Public Health 12, 1054 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-1054

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Sundaragiri, K.S., Shrivastava, S., Sankhla, B., Bhargava, A.: Ergonomics in an oral pathology laboratory: back to basics in microscopy. J. Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 18(Suppl 1), S103–S110 (2014). https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-029x.141341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Arora, A., Uparkar, S.M.: Ergonomic risk assessment in pathology laboratory technicians. Int. J. Ther. Rehabil. Res. 4(3), 15–19 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hignett, S., McAtamney, L.: Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). Appl. Ergon. 31(2), 201–205 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Hignett, S., Jones, A.: Safe access/egress systems for emergency ambulances. Emerg. Med. J. 24, 200–205 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Chaffin, D.B., Andersson, G.B.J., Martin, B.J.: Occupational Biomechanics, Chap. 6, 4th edn. Wiley, New York (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Jäger M: Load and load-bearing capacity of the lumbar spine in everyday working life—an interdisciplinary approach for ergonomic work design [in German: Belastung und Belastbarkeit der Lendenwirbelsäule im Berufsalltag — ein interdisziplinärer Ansatz für eine ergonomische Arbeitsgestaltung]. Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, Reihe 17, Nr. 208. VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  8. ISO/TR 12296:2012 Ergonomics - Manual handling of people in the healthcare sector

    Google Scholar 

  9. Barbero, M., Merletti, R., Rainoldi, A.: Atlas of muscle innervation zones: understanding surface electromyography and its applications. Springer, Heidelberg (2012)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  10. Hermens, H.J., Freriks, B., Merletti, R., et al.: European recommendations for surface ElectroMyoGraphy (SENIAM) (2000). Ed CLUT

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alessio Silvetti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Silvetti, A., Papale, A., Cipolloni, L., Vittorio, S., Draicchio, F. (2019). Biomechanical Risk Assessment of Pathologists in the Morgue. In: Goossens, R. (eds) Advances in Social and Occupational Ergonomics. AHFE 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 792. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94000-7_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94000-7_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93999-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-94000-7

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics