In a collaborative effort between the Harvard School of Public Health and insurance company Liberty Mutual, both in Boston, the researchers sought to address the often-ignored but important contributing factor to repetitive stress: the PACS input device (i.e., the mouse/keyboard), said co-author Phillip Boiselle, MD.
By mapping the keyboard and toolbar icon functions to an alternate input device with two scroll wheels and 15 programmable keys, the researchers were able to achieve a configuration with more neutral hand and wrist postures while maintaining usability.
Radiologists should pay careful attention to ergonomics and be active participants in enhancing the safety of their work environment, Boiselle said.
"Use of a commercially available, alternative input device, which substitutes for many keyboard and mouse functions, has the potential to improve the safety of radiologists' work by reducing the number of repetitive motions involved in PACS interpretation," he said.
