The Adoption of Ergonomic Innovations for Injury Prevention – Sonographer’s scanning support device

Studies of how people relate to the risk of occupational injury indicate that there is a tendency to underestimate the risk at work compared to other risks in society. Ultrasound examinations of the heart involve a static and very uncomfortable working posture for the sonographer. As a result many sonographers experience shoulder and neck pains which can result in long term sickness leaves. The purpose of the study was to evaluate how a more radical ergonomic innovation, a remote controlled ultrasound robot for cardiac examinations, Medirob, has been adopted. The study was conducted by interviews with department heads and heads of clinics, responsible for the procurement of the equipment. The results of this study have shown that it is not maybe enough to solve an ergonomic problem with an innovation to get it accepted and used. To prevent injuries the intervention must also have other qualities, for example improved productivity. Background Studies of how people relate to the risk of occupational injury indicate that there is a tendency to underestimate the risk at work compared to other risks in society. Most people are aware of traumatic injury and are willing to prevent such injuries. But they consider the risk of an occupational accident to be low [1]. Musculoskeletal symptoms or musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are defined as , “the conditions that involve the nerves, tendons, muscles, and supporting structures of the body” [2]. MSDs are especially prevalent in diagnostic sonographers [3‐6]. Ultrasound examinations of the heart involve a static and very uncomfortable working posture for the sonographer. As a result many sonographers experience shoulder and neck pains which can result in long term sickness leaves. Because of the difficulty in replacing these highly skilled individuals this can cause big disruptions at the cardiac‐ or medicine departments. In the worst case the sonographer might not be able to return to this job again [7]. More than 80% of sonographers experience work‐related pain and more than 20% of these suffer a career ending injury [8]. Sonographers responding to a survey indicated that the shoulder, neck, wrist and lower back were the most prevalent sites for pain and discomfort. An increasing loss of sonogra affects p member estimate worker’s Tempora