Evaluation and Modification of Surgeon Ergonomics in the Operation Room Using Artificial Intelligence Analytics

NCT ID: NCT06576570

Last Updated: 2025-11-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 30 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-10-21
• Study Completion Date: 2027-12-31

Brief Summary

The study is working to identify actions of surgeons in the operating room that can contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This includes poor positioning and time spent in poor positioning while working in the operating room. The study is also looking to determine if fatigue plays a role in work-related musculoskeletal disorders and whether an education intervention will change ergonomic risk.

Detailed Description

The study is working to identify actions of surgeons in the operating room that can contribute to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This includes poor positioning and time spent in poor positioning while working in the operating room. The study is also looking to determine if fatigue plays a role in work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Employing within-subject pre-post design to assess 1) patterns of aggregate risk data from video analysis in the OR for resident and attending surgeons over time and for different types of surgical tasks, 2) concurrent reliability assessment of the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment and Rapid Entire Body Assessment scores calculated from the software and visual analysis, 3) changes in pain data after review of the SOTER Task ergonomic outputs. The feasibility of using the system in the OR will also be assessed for open and laparoscopic surgery.

The study team will collect data, perform assessments, collect information from self-proctored surveys, and video record surgeon activities in the operating room on 20 surgeons. The video recordings will take measurements to assess risk factors for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Following the fifth surgical case, the study team complete an education intervention by reviewing measurements established in the video recordings and supply a brief presentation on Ergonomics for Surgeons. A summary of observed body positioning for each subject is provided. Post intervention, five additional surgical cases will be observed in the manner of the previous cases to identify change in ergonomic risk.

Conditions

Work Related Upper Limb Disorder; Musculoskeletal Pain

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Acute Care Surgery Attending and Resident Surgeons

Participants will be asked to perform their normal operative work for 5 cases while being filmed. Data will be collected using the SoterTask™ software which calculates momentary data on risk and an aggregate risk level. Two standard ergonomic risk assessments: Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) or the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) are also calculated. Both assessments are current best practice standard for determining the level of ergonomic risk. The RULA and REBA data calculated by SoterTask will be compared to scores assessed by the research team from the same video recordings of the work tasks.

Following the fifth operative case, participants will view an educational presentation of surgical ergonomics and review the data summarized from the ergonomic measurement system with video of their movement with a visual guideline highlighting high-risk angles and movements including legs, arms, neck and back.

Group Type: OTHER

Education presentation of surgical ergonomics

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

During an individual meeting with participant, a brief presentation will be supplied for review.

Summary of Ergonomic Measurement System

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participant will view a video of their movements with a visual guideline highlighting high-risk angles and movements.

Interventions

Education presentation of surgical ergonomics

During an individual meeting with participant, a brief presentation will be supplied for review.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Summary of Ergonomic Measurement System

Participant will view a video of their movements with a visual guideline highlighting high-risk angles and movements.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Any general surgery operative case by a surgeon from the Division of Acute Care Surgery. These cases will be conducted in what has been designated as the "Acute Care Surgery OR" for the day.

Exclusion Criteria

• Any operative case in which the surgical attending or resident has not signed informed consent to record this individual during the case.
• Any operative case that the surgical attending feels is inappropriate for video recording or when filming could interfere with surgical procedures

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 99 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Florida

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Philip Efron, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Florida

Locations

UF Health at Shands Hospital

Gainesville, Florida, United States

UF Health Shands Hospital at the University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

IRB202301655

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id