Hierarchical Task Analysis of Ophthalmology Clinical Exam for identifying Biomechanic risks

Abstract

A taxonomy was developed a) to describe clinical procedures with sufficient detail to review differences among practitioners, b) to examine the relationship between individual technique, spatial and temporal relationships of the workspace for calculating biomechanical risk, and c) to enable practitioners to standardize technique around best practices as well as suggest work changes that can reduce load and risk. Three different examples of ophthalmological exams were recorded for three different practitioners of differing statures. A hierarchical task analysis (HTA) was used to decompose the observed exams into successive levels of detail. The results were then used to perform load pattern and fatigue risk analysis for upper-body limbs. Analysis of these selected cases using the proposed taxonomy demonstrates how even routine ophthalmologic clinical exams pose fatigue risks for the practitioners.