A systematic approach to enhance extremity protection in Alaska fishing industry

Iowa State University, Ames IA

Investigators

Abstract

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.