A software tool to assess injury risk and maximum allowable exertions for repetitive, forceful one hand and two hand shoulder push/pull motions

BioSensics LLC, in partnership with the Center for Advanced Orthopaedic Studies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will develop the shoulder injury risk assessment (ShIRA) software tool for a wide range of activities. The injury risk criteria and exposure assessment models will be developed based on expert opinion from shoulder surgeons, ex-vivo data on the biomechanics of the shoulder joint, in-vivo data on EMG of the shoulder girdle and computational simulation of the glenohumeral joint. Both acute disorders and long term chronic diseases will be considered to develop a robust and reliable shoulder injury risk criteria. The final injury criteria for the male and female subjects and the exposure schedule (hours per day, days per week, weeks per year) will be used to determine hazard severities and probabilities, as defined in AR-40-10, for key adverse outcomes such as load intolerance from shoulder muscle fatigue and increased risk (relative to a comparable normal population) of developing near term acute rotator cuff disorders and long term chronic degenerative tissue diseases of the shoulder. In Phase III, we will work closely with the US Army Public Health Command Ergonomics Program identify deficiencies and develop a plan for reconciliation.