Stability Measurements of Overhead Tasks in Combination with Prismatic Glasses Using IMU Mocap System: Presenting an Experiment Protocol.

Although overhead work is closely related to musculoskeletal disorders, it is difficult to avoid the postures introduced by overhead work for heavy load professions. Prismatic glasses can help to avoid these disorders. As prismatic glasses obstruct the central view of the user, the sensory system linked with the posture control of the user can be disrupted. To understand if prismatic glasses propose an added value in an industrial setting, this paper reports the setup and evaluation of an experiment protocol that examines the effect of prismatic glasses on a person's stability while performing overhead work. Participants were asked to perform tasks representing different overhead work professions. Two experiments are composed: with and without wearing prismatic glasses. Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) mocap system, Xsens (MVN Awinda, Enschede, The Netherlands) are used to record the participants' center of mass (COM). During the experiments participants documented their perceived balance using the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale. Observers used the Performance-oriented mobility assessment (POMA) test to document the balance of the participant. Future experiments need to focus on: representative and accurate population sample, the use of static non-computerized posturography in combination with the existing protocol and introduction/ comparison of posturography parameters using computerized posturography and body kinematics obtained by an IMU wearable motion capturing system.