Ergonomic impact of a passive upper-limb exoskeleton on surgeon workload during laparoscopic tasks: a crossover experimental study.

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive surgery, particularly laparoscopic surgery, places considerable musculoskeletal strain on surgeons and is associated with high rates of pain, fatigue, numbness, and stiffness. Wearable assistive devices such as exoskeletons have been proposed as ergonomic solutions; however, evidence supporting their effectiveness in laparoscopic surgery remains limited. This study evaluated the feasibility and ergonomic impact of a passive upper-limb exoskeleton during laparoscopic procedures.

METHODS

This prospective crossover study used 28 porcine models. Twenty surgeons with varying laparoscopic experience each performed two laparoscopic intracorporeal gastrointestinal anastomoses, with and without a passive upper-limb exoskeleton. Surgeons were randomly assigned to begin either with the exoskeleton or without it. The primary outcome was total workload assessed using the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), calculated as the mean of the six domains. Secondary outcomes included individual NASA-TLX domain scores and anastomosis time. Subgroup analyses were also performed according to laparoscopic experience (beginner, intermediate, expert) and anastomosis type (stapled vs. handsewn).

RESULTS

No significant difference was observed between the exoskeleton and non-exoskeleton conditions for the primary outcome, the mean total NASA-TLX score. Among the secondary outcomes, the NASA-TLX domains Physical Demand and Effort were significantly lower with the exoskeleton than without it (72.5 [48.8-81.3] vs. 45.0 [25.0-67.5], p = 0.026; 65.0 [40.0-76.3] vs. 37.5 [30.0-70.0], p = 0.025). No significant differences were observed in the other NASA-TLX domains or in anastomosis time. In subgroup analyses, workload was significantly lower with the exoskeleton among expert surgeons (p = 0.036) and during hand-sewn anastomosis (p = 0.009).

CONCLUSIONS

The exoskeleton did not significantly reduce overall workload. However, it decreased the NASA-TLX domains Physical Demand and Effort during laparoscopic procedures without compromising procedural performance. The reduction in workload appeared more pronounced among expert surgeons and during hand-sewn anastomosis.