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CC BY 4.0 · Endosc Int Open
DOI: 10.1055/a-2568-9610
Original article

A pilot evaluation of a novel, automated ergonomics assessment tool

Bara El Kurdi 
1   Gastroenterology, Carilion Clinic, Roanoke, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN6912)
,
sumbal Babar
2   Infectious Diseases, Carilion Clinic, Roanoke, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN6912)
,
Ali Soroush
3   Gastroenterology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN5925)
,
Jay Bapaye
1   Gastroenterology, Carilion Clinic, Roanoke, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN6912)
,
Reid D. Wasserman
4   Internal Medicine, Carilion Clinic, Roanoke, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN6912)
,
Juan Echavarria
5   Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN14742)
,
Omer Shahab
6   Gastroenterology, Virginia Hospital Center Arlington Health System, Arlington, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN1305)
,
Cameron Locke
7   Gastroenterology, NYU Langone Health, New York, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN12297)
,
Jamie Yang
8   Gastroenterology, UCLA, Los Angeles, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN8783)
,
Michael Koachman
9   Gastroenterology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN14640)
,
Klaus Mönkemüller
10   Gastroenterology, HELIOS Frankenwald Hospital Kronach, Kronach, Germany (Ringgold ID: RIN243516)
,
Aasma Shaukat
7   Gastroenterology, NYU Langone Health, New York, United States (Ringgold ID: RIN12297)
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Introduction: Gastroenterologists are prone to endoscopy-related musculoskeletal injuries (ERI). Current interventions lack real-time monitoring and feedback. ErgoGenius©, a novel artificial intelligence computer-vision tool, addresses this gap by providing continuous posture assessment and feedback without wearable motion trackers. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of ErgoGenius, its accuracy compared to human appraisers, and its ability to detect abnormal posture. Methods: The study was conducted at two large academic centers. The Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA)score was used as a surrogate for ergonomic performance and risk of injury. Ten endoscopists of varying gender, height, and weight were recorded performing endoscopic tasks in optimal vs. lowered bed positions. Videos were analyzed by ErgoGenius. A paired T-test was used to compare REBA scores between bed positions. Results: ErgoGenius was successfully deployed in a controlled endoscopy setting. ErgoGenius achieved perfect internal agreement (rho = 1) and closely correlated with human appraisers (rho = 0.987),. The average REBA scores were notably higher in the lowered bed position (mean 4.64) compared to the optimal position (mean 2.55), (p-value of 0.006). Conclusion: ErgoGenius was successfully deployed to detect abnormal postures related to changes in bed position and quantify ERI risk. It performed at par with human appraisers. This tool shows promise in enhancing ergonomic practices among gastroenterologists and trainees, potentially leading to better health outcomes and reduced injury.



Publication History

Received: 20 December 2024

Accepted after revision: 24 March 2025

Accepted Manuscript online:
28 March 2025

© . The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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