Evaluation of the biodynamic response of the hand–arm system and hand-tool designs: a brief review

Abstract

Hand-operated tools transmit a high magnitude of vibration exposure to the hand–arm system that causes occupational diseases. The health effects caused in various countries for the past years due to usage of hand tools are necessary to identify the occupational disorders. Researchers have conducted various studies on biological effects, hand-transmitted vibration exposure and biodynamic responses throughout the years. This article goes over each of these studies in detail, as well as identifying areas where more research is needed. The majority of studies deal with the following topics: general guidelines for hand-transmitted vibrations; assessment techniques of vibration exposure; hand-tool evaluation methods; influence of hand-tool design to overcome the biomechanical effects; and finite element modelling for quantifying vibration exposure. In response to this, understanding the biodynamic behaviour of the hand–arm system is useful for better ergonomic intervention in hand tools to reduce fatigue and increase comfort.

Keywords:

• vibration exposure
• occupational diseases
• vibration guidelines
• hand-tool designs
• objective and subjective measurements
• finger models

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of the Department of Science and Technology (DST, India).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. The authors assure this work is original and has not been published elsewhere; it is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Science and Engineering Research Board [Grant Number YSS/2014/000715].