A systematic approach to enhance extremity protection in Alaska fishing industry

项目总结 每年，数以千计的农业、渔业和林业部门的工人手部受伤和疾病导致 巨大的医疗成本和生产力损失。渔业工人经常暴露在寒冷的温度、大风中 搬运寒冷/冰冻设备/物体时的速度和潮湿天气。这会导致血管收缩， 减少流向四肢的血液，降低手的灵活性和触觉，这反过来又增加了创伤的风险 手部受伤，并加剧肌肉骨骼疾病。然而，潜在的机制和基本参数 会影响戴着防护手套时手持钓鱼工具的血液循环和皮肤温度 暴露在极端寒冷和潮湿的条件下在很大程度上仍然是未知的。这种知识鸿沟和相关知识的缺失 行业标准迫使渔业工人使用为其他目的和职业设计的手套，通常是在 焦点是纯粹的机械保护(撕裂、割伤、刺伤等)而忽略了温度调节方面的问题。这些手套 由于热量和水分管理不善，不适合渔业工作，造成热不适和减少 灵巧和握力，从而在最坏的情况下导致手部受伤。该项目旨在减少手部受伤。 在渔业方面，通过建立一个框架，为制定标准提供科学指导， 现有和下一代防护手套的规定、评价方法和选择指南 跨学科勘探-检验-预测方法。我们将开发并验证3D多节段手部 一种可模拟渔民冷湿环境热生理反应的体温调节模型 条件、重复运动和快节奏的手部活动。预期的结果将阐明环境条件如何， 手套和工具夹持相互作用，影响每个手部的血流和皮肤温度，从而提供新的 对设计和开发考虑手部热生理和优化的有效钓鱼手套的见解 手功能，同时考虑到特定的使用环境和钓鱼任务。该项目有三个具体目标： (1)现有防护手套的市场和使用体验分析及性能评估；(2)开发3D防护手套 渔民多节段人工体温调节模型；(3)模型模拟研究 手套材料特性、环境因素和手部姿势(钓鱼活动)对 手的热生理反应。拟议的工作具有创新性，因为它通过以下方式改变了现状 采用协同和融合的方法开发和评估将导致新设计的手部防护装备 以及考虑人体热生理反应和人体工程学因素的材料，以减轻手部疾病的风险 受伤。最后，预期的结果对指导新材料的开发和应用功能具有重要的潜力 和人体工程学设计，并为手套生成新的评估标准和使用指南，以实现平衡保护， 舒适度和性能。

PROJECT SUMMARY Each year, thousands of workers in the farming, fishing, and forestry sectors suffer hand injuries and illnesses causing significant healthcare costs and loss of productivity. Fishery workers are often exposed to cold temperatures, high wind velocities, and wet weather while handling cold/frozen equipment/objects. This can cause blood vessels to constrict, reducing blood flow to extremities and decreasing hand dexterity and tactility, which in turn increases the risks of traumatic hand injuries and exacerbates musculoskeletal disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms and fundamental parameters that affect blood circulation and skin temperature of a hand holding a fishing tool while wearing a protective glove and being exposed to extremely cold and wet conditions is still largely unknown. This knowledge-gap and absence of relevant industry standards has forced fishery workers to use gloves designed for other purposes and occupations, usually where the focus is purely mechanical protection (tears, cuts, punctures, etc.) while neglecting thermoregulatory aspects. These gloves are inadequate for fishery work due to poor thermal and moisture management, causing thermal discomfort and reduced dexterity and grip, thereby contributing to hand injury in the worst-case scenario. This project aims to reduce hand injuries in the fishing industry by establishing a framework to provide scientific directions for the development of standards, regulation, evaluation methods, and selection guidance of existing and next generation protective gloves through an interdisciplinary exploration-examination-prediction approach. We will develop and validate a 3D multi-segment hand thermoregulation model capable of simulating the thermophysiological response of fishery workers exposed to cold and wet conditions, repetitive motion, and fast-paced hand activity. The expected results will elucidate how ambient conditions, gloves, and tool gripping interact to affect blood flow and skin temperature in each hand segment, thus providing new insights for the design and development of effective fishing gloves that consider hand thermal physiology and optimize hand function while accounting for the particular usage environment and fishing tasks. This project has three specific aims: (1) market and usage experience analysis and performance evaluation of existing protective gloves, (2) developing a 3D multi-segment hand-specific thermoregulation model for fishery workers, and (3) using model simulations to investigate the impacts of glove material properties, environmental factors, and hand posture (fishing activities) on the thermophysiological response of the hand. The proposed work is innovative because it departs from the status quo by employing a synergistic and convergent approach to develop and evaluate hand protective gear that will lead to new designs and materials that account for the human thermophysiological response and ergonomic factors to mitigate the risk of hand injuries. Finally, the expected outcomes have significant potential to guide new material development and apply functional and ergonomic designs, and generate new evaluation standards and usage guidance for gloves to achieve balanced protection, comfort, and performance.