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Chairless Chair Exoskeleton. Work-physiological-biomechanical Analysis of the Lower Extremities

NCT03134144 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 46

Last updated 2020-06-16

Study results available
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Summary

Standing work is associated with increased risks of venous and musculoskeletal disorders; particularly low back pain is commonly reported in prolonged standing work. In manufacturing work, workstations often do not allow standing aids due to insufficient functional and spatial conditions. In 2014, the car manufacturer Audi introduced the lower leg exoskeleton developed by Noonee to their employees working in the factories. This exoskeleton, the 'Chairless Chair' has the advantage that standing work can be performed while technically sitting on this device. The exoskeleton offers the potential for reduced awkward body postures, but it is unclear which physiological and biomechanical loads are influenced and how. This proposal provides a study design evaluating the 'Chairless Chair' in a laboratory setting, by testing its effectiveness in terms of physiological and biomechanical parameters. It is suggested to compare different assembly tasks while wearing the exoskeleton, compared with not wearing the exoskeleton. The 'Chairless Chair' is developed in one size only, which is why we propose to include participants of different body height, which will enable us to investigate whether body height influences the effectiveness of wearing the device.

Conditions

  • Healthy

Interventions

DEVICE

Exoskeleton "Chairless Chair"

One solution to reduce the exposure of employees to associated risks for developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders is to use exoskeletons. Using such a device in dynamic environments has the advantage over, e.g., robotics because it does not need any programming or teaching of robots. Moreover, exoskeletons are worn at the body and do not have to overcome spatial issues. In a recent review, 26 different exoskeletons have been described of which only two were designed to support the lower body during heavy work (de Looze et al. 2015). For lower intensive work tasks, like assembly tasks in the automobile industry, no study has focused on using exoskeletons to relieve employees while performing the work standing.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University Hospital Tuebingen

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
40 Years
Sex
MALE
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2017-05-01
Primary Completion
2017-10-15
Completion
2017-10-15

Countries

  • Germany

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03134144 on ClinicalTrials.gov