Ergonomic and sustainable posture for gynecological laparoscopic surgeons determined based on images analyzed using artificial intelligence

Studies have reported the emergence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) due to surgery. In fact, the usfige of long-shafted instruments has been suspected to induce WMSD in laparoscopic surgery. The present study therefore investigated whether differences in the range of motion of the face and neck, and the shoulder, elbow and hand on the dominant hand side, existed when using short- and long-shafted laparoscopic coagulation shears (LCS) during a gynecological laparoscopic surgery, based on images analyzed using artificial intelligence. After identifying the corresponding body parts in the video, the range of motion was illustrated graphically for each joint coordinate, followed by statistical analysis for changes in the position of each part. The range of motion for the face and neck did not significantly differ, whereas those for the shoulder, elbow and hand became noticeably broader when using the 36-cm long-shafted LCS than when using the 20-cm short-shafted LCS. Overall, the shorter LCS promoted a narrower range of motion compared with the 36-cm LCS, suggesting its potential for reducing the physical strain placed on the surgeon's body during gynecological laparoscopic surgery.