Using exoskeletons to assist medical staff during prone positioning of mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients: a pilot study

Serena Ivaldi (1) , Pauline Maurice (1) , Waldez Gomes (1) , Jean Theurel (2) , Liên Wioland (2) , Jean-Jacques Atain-Kouadio (2) , Laurent Claudon (2) , Hind Hani (3) , Antoine Kimmoun (4) , Jean-Marc Sellal (4) , Bruno Levy (4) , Jean Paysant (4) , Sergueï Malikov (4) , Bruno Chenuel (4) , Nicla Settembre (4)

1 LARSEN - Lifelong Autonomy and interaction skills for Robots in a Sensing ENvironment
2 INRS ( Vandoeuvre lès Nancy) - Institut national de recherche et de sécurité (Vandoeuvre lès Nancy)
3 CUESim - Centre universitaire d'enseignement par simulation - Hôpital virtuel de Lorraine [Nancy]
4 CHRU Nancy - Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy

We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the potential and feasibility of back-support exoskeletons to help the caregivers in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the University Hospital of Nancy (France) executing Prone Positioning (PP) maneuvers on patients suffering from severe COVID-19-related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. After comparing four commercial exoskeletons, the Laevo passive exoskeleton was selected and used in the ICU in April 2020. The first volunteers using the Laevo reported very positive feedback and reduction of effort, confirmed by EMG and ECG analysis. Laevo has been since used to physically assist during PP in the ICU of the Hospital of Nancy, following the recrudescence of COVID-19, with an overall positive feedback.

Mots clés: Human Factors; COVID-19; Exoskeletons; Prone Positioning; DHM

Domaines: Robotique [cs.RO]

Serena Ivaldi, Pauline Maurice, Waldez Gomes, Jean Theurel, Liên Wioland, et al.. Using exoskeletons to assist medical staff during prone positioning of mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients: a pilot study. AHFE 2021 - 12th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, Jul 2021, New York, United States. pp.88, ⟨10.1007/978-3-030-80744-3_12⟩. ⟨hal-03137133⟩