| Sumario: | Purpose Low back injuries (i.e., intervertebral disc herniation, sprain or strain causing low back pain) are common in caregivers who deal with patients transfers from one place to another (i.e., from bed to wheelchair) (Waters, 2007; Coggon et al., 2013). While a mechanical lift (carerobot) is designed to help reduce physical loads occurring at low back during transfers, its biomechanical benefits have not been clearly documented. This symposium addresses this issue by discussing results of research studies. Method Fifteen individuals simulated patient transfers from bed to wheelchair with and without a mechanical lift. During trials, kinematics of an upper body has been recorded and analyzed to estimate a compressive force occurring between L5 and S1 (Lee et al., 2022). Sensor data of an upper body were also acquired from IMU sensors (Xsens Dot, Xsens Technologies, Enschede, Netherlands) placed on the body segments, including forearms, upper arms, thighs, shins and waist, and used to develop a classification model to differentiate injurious versus non-injurious transfers, where a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) criterion was used to define injurious (compressive force at L5/S1 greater than 3,400 N) versus non-injurious (less than 3,400 N) transfers (Lim et al., 2022; Waters et al., 1993). Results and Discussion The compressive force ranged between 1,900 N and 3,700 N during transfers. This confirms that the transferring activity involves moments where the compressive force exceeds the NIOSH safety criterion. Furthermore, when compared to manual transfers, the compressive force was about 30% smaller in transfers with a mechanical lift. This suggests that the risk of low back injury may be reduced with use of a mechanical lift. Collectively, our results support biomechanical benefits of a mechanical lift during patient transfers.
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