Design and Development process for medical furniture through a case study

The design process for medical devices requires a good understanding of all those requirements involved in the healthcare industry. Not only making sure that medical standards are met is important, but paying special attention to all the human factors and behaviours related with those procedures for which the device is intended, is essential when approaching the ergonomic perspective of the development process for medical furniture or other similar components/devices. In order to facilitate the understanding of the process as well as making possible its future use as a reference guide for the development of other new related products, this thesis will be using a case study in which all the procedures and stages of the development will be described and applied under real conditions with the final outcome of a new product based on an Ergonomic Ultrasound Workstation. The case study will go through the different stages involved on the project. It starts with the gathering of specific information not only about current technology available but also about methods of assessing the kind of operations that are generating these injuries, followed by in-site observations that will help to finally have a real picture of what the current situation is. This will allow the development of an initial concept design, followed by a component-focused technology review, to give the outcome of a fully working prototype to be evaluated during an experimental stage. Findings from these experiments will be key to obtaining final conclusions as well as to establish the future path to create and sell a high demand solution

Creation of a design methodology for devices that improve human mobility

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Seventh Annual Workshop on Space Operations Applications and Research (SOAR 1993), volume 2

This document contains papers presented at the Space Operations, Applications and Research Symposium (SOAR) Symposium hosted by NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC) and cosponsored by NASA/JSC and U.S. Air Force Materiel Command. SOAR included NASA and USAF programmatic overviews, plenary session, panel discussions, panel sessions, and exhibits. It invited technical papers in support of U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Department of Energy, NASA, and USAF programs in the following areas: robotics and telepresence, automation and intelligent systems, human factors, life support, and space maintenance and servicing. SOAR was concerned with Government-sponsored research and development relevant to aerospace operations

Patterns of sedentary behavior : insights from observational and experimental studies on body composition and energy expenditure

It is recognized that sedentary behavior (SB) has deleterious effects on numerous health outcomes and it appears that physiological mechanisms underlying these harms are distinct from the ones explaining moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) benefits. Sedentary behavior represents a large portion of human’s life and is increasing with technological development. A new current of opinion supports the idea that the manner SB is accumulated plays an important role. This dissertation presents six research studies conducted under the scope of SB. In the methodological area, the first study highlighted the magnitude of potential errors in estimating SB and its patterns from common alternative methods (accelerometer and heart rate monitor) compared to ActivPAL. This study presented the accelerometer as a valid method at a group level. Two studies (2 and 5) were performed in older adults (the most sedentary group in the population) to test the associations for SB patterns with abdominal obesity using accelerometry. The findings showed positive graded associations for prolonged sedentary bouts with abdominal obesity and showed that those who interrupted SB more frequently were less likely to present abdominal obesity. Therefore, public health recommendations regarding breaking up SB more often are expected to be relevant. The associations between sedentary patterns and abdominal obesity were independent of MVPA in older adults. However, the low MVPA in this group makes it unclear whether this independent relationship still exists if highly active persons are analysed. Study 3 inovates by examining the association of SB with body fatness in highly trained athletes and found SB to predict total fat mass and trunk fat mass, independently of age and weekly training time. Study 4 also brings novelty to this research field by quantifying the metabolic and energetic cost of the transition from sitting to standing and then sitting back down (a break), informing about the modest energetic costs (0.32 kcal·min−1). Finally, from a successful multicomponent pilot intervention to reduce and break up SB (study 6), an important behavioral resistance to make more sit/stand transitions despite successfully reducing sitting time (~ 1.85 hours·day-1) was found, which may be relevant to inform future behavioral modification programs. The present work provides observational and experimental evidence on the relation for SB patterns with body composition outcomes and energy regulation that may be relevant for public health interventions.É reconhecido, que o comportamento sedentário (CS) tem efeitos nefastos em enúmeros parâmetros de saúde, sendo que os mecanismos fisiológicos subjacentes a esses malefícios são distintos daqueles que explicam os benefícios da actividade física moderada a vigorosa (AFMV). O comportamento sedentário representa uma grande parte da vida do ser humano e está a aumentar a par do desenvolvimento tecnológico. Uma nova corrente de opinião defende a ideia de que a forma como o CS é acumulado poderá ter um papel importante. A presente dissertação inclui seis artigos realizados no âmbito do estudo do CS. Na área metodológica, o primeiro estudo destaca a magnitude dos potenciais erros na estimativa do CS e interrupções deste comportamento através de métodos objectivos de avaliação da AF (acelerómetro e monitor de frequência cardíaca) em comparação com o ActivPAL. Este estudo apresenta o acelerómetro como um método válido ao nível de grupo. Foram realizados dois estudos (2 e 5) em idosos (o grupo mais sedentário da população) para testar as associações dos padrões de acumulação do CS com a obesidade abdominal utilizando acelerometria. Os resultados mostraram associações positivas para períodos continuos e prolongados em CS com a obesidade abdominal, sendo que quem interrompe o CS com maior frequência está menos propenso a apresentar obesidade abdominal. Portanto, as recomendações de saúde pública para que se interrompa o CS mais frequentemente são esperadas relevantes. As associações encontradas entre os padrões de acumulação do comportamento sedentário e a obesidade abdominal foram independentes da AFMV em idosos. No entanto, a baixa AFMV neste grupo faz com que não seja claro se essa relação de independência ainda existe, em pessoas altamente treinadas. Assim, o estudo 3 trouxe inovação, ao examinar a associação do CS com a gordura corporal em atletas de alto rendimento. O CS apresentou-se como um preditor da massa gorda total e massa gorda do tronco, independentemente da idade ou do tempo de treino semanal. O estudo 4 também inova este campo de pesquisa por ter, pela primeira vez, quantificado o custo metabólico e energético de uma transição entre o estar sentado para o estar de pé e retorno à posição sentada (um “break”), informando dos custos energéticos modestos (0.32 kcal·min−1). Finalmente, de uma intervenção piloto bem sucedida que objetivou a redução e interrupção do CS (estudo 6), encontrou-se uma resistência comportamental para aumentar o número de “breaks” no CS, apesar de uma redução significativa no tempo passado sentado (1.85horas·dia-1), informando assim futuros programas de modificação comportamental. O presente trabalho fornece evidência observacional e experimental sobre a relação entre os padrões de CS com variáveis de composição corporal e regulação energética que podem ser relevantes para intervenções de saúde pública